Ed Wears a Disguise
by Obsessive Explosion
Summary: Ed, Al, and Havoc are sent to scope out a small town where alchemists keep mysteriously disappearing, but things start to go badly when Ed is poisoned.
1. Chapter 1

This whole story is already written, so don't worry, it's definitely not going to be abandoned. It might take me a little while to get the whole things up though. It should be six chapters of around this length. Thanks for reading!

* * *

"I'm sending you to a small village to do some investigating," Mustang said. "It could take a couple days. And you'll be leaving tomorrow."

Ed wasn't particularly paying attention to his superior officer. Instead, he was looking out the window, trying to imagine that he was anywhere aside from sitting in Mustang's office in Eastern Headquarters, going over future assignments and paperwork.

"Fullmetal?" Mustang asked again after a few seconds. "Did you hear me?"

"I heard you," Ed said. "I'm going to a village to do some investigating." He frowned slightly. "Um...what is it that I'm going to be investigating, exactly?"

Mustang sighed a little. "An unusual amount of alchemists have been disappearing from the village."  
Ed perked up a bit. "Kidnappings?"

Mustang shook his head. "They just moved. Or so it appears. It's suspicious enough that we wanted to send someone just to look around a little."

Ed nodded. That sounded like it could be more interesting than a lot of his assignments, actually. And it would be nice for him and Al to get away from East City for a little bit. They could have some freedom for once, maybe take some time to relax….

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention," Mustang said. "Second Lieutenant Havoc will be going with you."

"What?" Ed said angrily. "Colonel, come on, Al and I do missions like this all the time, we don't need a babysitter…."

"He's not just there to watch you," Mustang said. "The town is extremely unfriendly towards the state alchemy program, but they respect the Amestrian military and you'll be safer with him along."

"But why _Havoc_?" Ed whined. It wasn't that he disliked the lieutenant, he just wanted to be left to his own devices and he knew that Havoc wouldn't allow him to do that.

Ed hadn't expected an actual answer, but Mustang put his hands flat on the desk and sighed again. "Because Lieutenant Hawkeye could not be spared at this time," he said simply. "And Lieutenant Havoc was the next best option."

"Alright," Ed finally said. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow." Mustang frowned. "I just said that. Don't you ever listen?"

"I better go pack," Ed said evasively as he left, nodding at Havoc who was sulking in the corner.

"Now stopping in Tranquility! Transfer here for Mayfield and Varney!"

Ed stared out the window as the train pulled into the station. Beyond the small wooden building lay the neat, clean, _boring_ streets of Tranquility.

"Tranquility...what a dumb name," he muttered. Beside him, Al made a soft squeak, and Ed sighed. _Al has such terrible taste_ , he thought, with a superiority that can only come from being born first.

The train stopped with a hiss of steam and a lurch, and Ed stood up.

"Alright, let's get this over with. Al, wake up Havoc, will you?"

"I'm awake," Havoc yawned unconvincingly, and the three of them stepped off the train into Tranquility.

* * *

Al stayed behind his brother, carrying his suitcase as usual. As they walked through the streets, searching for a place to stay, he began to agree with Ed. This town seemed...well, boring. But in a good way, Al thought. Sometimes, he could use a little boring. And Tranquility seemed to fit its name perfectly. Every street corner was clean, every house had a carefully tended patch of flowers above the well-kept lawn. The people they passed smiled and waved. A few of them even stopped and welcomed them to the town. If Al could have smiled, he would have. They could spend a few days here in peace, relaxing, then go back and satisfy the Colonel. _Everybody wins. And maybe brother can relax a little, too. He's always working so hard…_

"Rose Garden Inn," Ed said from a little ways ahead. "They have a vacancy. I wonder if they have complimentary breakfast…"

"They'd regret it," Havoc muttered quietly, and Al snickered. Ed apparently missed the joke, because he pushed open the ivy-covered gate and walked up the path to the inn without answering. Al and Havoc followed him into the reception room just inside.

Ed swaggered up to the counter and peered over the top of it. "Do you have two rooms open?"

The receptionist smiled down at Ed from her stool, and Al winced. His brother wouldn't like this.

"Are you with an adult?" she said kindly, glancing up at Havoc. Al sighed as Ed's face and neck turned bright red.

"I'm a State Alchemist," he snapped, dumping his pocket watch on the counter.

Instantly, the receptionist's face dropped into a scowl. "A...State Alchemist?"

Havoc stepped up to the counter, edging Ed smoothly out of the way. "Yes, ma'am," he said, smiling at her. "East City sent us, just to make sure all of you citizens are safe out here in Tranquility. We've heard reports of some dangerous wildlife in the East, and we just want to make sure everything's okay. The alchemist's here in case we run into any problems."

He beamed at the receptionist again, and she smiled back at him. Al was impressed. Havoc's cover story was a lot better than the one Ed had suggested. That one had involved highwaymen, flying machines, and lots of fighting. Ed frowned. Al could tell that no part of this situation was making him happy.

But the receptionist nodded. "We do have two rooms available. Third floor. Does that work for you?"

Ed opened his mouth to answer, but Havoc cut him off. "Thank you, that's perfect," he said. He gave the receptionist the information for the military account, and she handed Havoc one set of keys and Ed the other.

"Let's go unpack," Havoc said, "and then we can look around."

"Can we get food first?" Ed whined. "We didn't get anything on the train. And it's past lunchtime!"

Havoc sighed. "Fine," he said. He turned back to the receptionist again. "Is there a good place to eat around here?"  
The receptionist nodded enthusiastically. "The inn has a tavern, it's right through that set of doors."

Havoc thanked her, and the three made their way through the doors and into the tavern. They sat down at a table close to the door, as far from any of the other patrons as they could manage so they wouldn't be overheard.

"You'll need to order something too, Al," Havoc said. "Just to keep up appearances."

"That's fine, I'll eat whatever we get for Al," Ed said quickly.

Havoc stared at Ed. "You want two full lunches?"

Ed nodded. Al knew that eating two meals was nothing out of the ordinary for Ed, he often ate Al's food and sometimes simply ordered two dishes for himself. But Havoc had clearly not been expecting that, and he was still looking at Ed in confusion. Ed shrugged.

A waitress came by, and Al ordered something that he knew that Ed would like. "How long are you going to be in town for?" she asked, voice friendly.

Havoc started to answer, but Ed cut across him. "We should just be in town for a few days. I'm a State Alchemist, and we're just looking into-"

"A State Alchemist?" the waitress asked, raising her voice. Immediately, at least five heads snapped up. Al could feel the eyes of many of the other patrons boring into them. Havoc groaned.

Ed seemed oblivious, and continued to talk. "...and my brother is an alchemist too, but he doesn't work for the military, we're all just here looking into a few things…."

Al watched as the waitress shot them one more angry, frightened glance, but she didn't say anything else and disappeared to get them their food.

"Brother," Al said, determined to get a word in before Havoc had the chance to say anything, "you can't keep telling people you're a State Alchemist. Now everyone in the restaurant knows, and State Alchemists aren't trusted here. Word is going to get around, and we won't be able to do anything in this town."

Ed sat back in his seat, sulking. "Me being a State Alchemist is supposed to help us, but it just gets in our way," he muttered, desultorily shoving bread into his mouth.

"Well, if you don't scream about it to everyone you meet…" Havoc pointed out. Ed glared at him, and Al got in the middle - again.

"They glared at me too, though," he said.

Havoc shrugged. "I guess they don't like alchemists in general. Good thing they don't seem to have a problem with the military...at least someone can get some answers." He peered over at Ed's plate, still piled high with both his own food and Al's. "Are you gonna finish that?"

Al sighed as Ed snarled and held a fork in what he undoubtedly thought was a menacing manner.

"Okay, okay. I'm gonna go out and see if I can find anything. That receptionist seemed pretty friendly…."

* * *

Ed threw his cards down on the bed, grimacing in frustration at the bad hand he'd gotten.

"If you're done playing cards, do you want to try and go meet Havoc?" Al asked him.

Ed shook his head. Secretly, he was relieved that Havoc had taken it upon himself to investigate. He didn't think that the Second Lieutenant would come up with anything, and besides, he was suddenly feeling very tired. He yawned.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna take a nap."

"But- don't you want to hear what Havoc finds?"

Ed shook his head firmly. "He won't find anything. This town is as innocent as it gets."

Just then, a loud rap on the door made them both jump. "Ed! Al! It's me, open up!"

Ed rose from the bed and went over to the door to admit Havoc. He looked rather more excited than Ed had expected. As soon as he was in the room, he closed the door behind him and checked to make sure they were alone.

"There's definitely something weird going on in this town," he said, and Ed groaned as Al chuckled slightly.

"What did you find?" Ed said reluctantly, seeing his vacation vanish before his eyes. And he was so tired…

Havoc pulled up a chair and began. "Okay, so first, I talked to Meggy-"

"Who?"

"Our lovely receptionist," Havoc answered, beaming. "She said that the missing alchemists moved to the countryside, but she didn't seem too sure about it. So I went to a bar-"

"Useful," Ed muttered, and Al shot him a glare. Havoc didn't seem to notice.

"And everyone there said the same exact thing."

Ed shrugged. "That doesn't seem too suspicious to me. It's probably the truth."

Havoc shook his head. "No, you don't understand. 'They moved to the countryside to study alchemy in private.' They all said that sentence, in those exact words. That doesn't seem a little weird to you?"

It did seem a little weird. And as much as he wanted to tell Havoc that he was wrong, he couldn't deny the feeling that was starting to grow inside him.

"They really all said that exactly? Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course." Havoc broke off at another knock on the door. "You can see for yourself," he hissed, and opened it.

A bellhop entered with fresh sheets. He handed them to Ed, who placed them on the bed behind him. Curiosity getting the better of him, he turned back to the bellhop.

"Hey, I notice there aren't many alchemists in town, where are they?"

The bellhop stared straight ahead of him. "They moved to the countryside to study alchemy in private," he said, almost chanting. It was clearly a rote answer, and it was deeply unnerving.

"Thank you," Havoc said as the bellhop left, closing the door gently behind him.

Then he looked pointedly at Ed. Ed sighed. He had to admit that the interaction with the bellhop had been extremely strange. There was something unsettling going on in the town, there could be no question of that. Havoc had been right. They would need to do some actual investigating after all.

"Did you find out anything else?" Al asked curiously. "Especially any information about where the alchemists actually could have gone?"

Havoc shook his head. "Not yet. But I have some connections now, so we should be able to find out some more information tomorrow. But there's nothing else that we can do tonight, so now, if you don't mind, I am going to go hit on the receptionist."

Havoc must have caught sight of Ed and Al's shocked expressions, because he immediately tried to backtrack. "Not hit on. Did I say that? I meant...befriend. Yeah. I'm gonna go befriend the receptionist. See you boys tomorrow. Stay out of trouble. Have a good night…."

As Havoc was speaking he slowly backed out of the room, shutting the door behind himself the second he was clear of it. Once he was gone, Ed sighed.

"Alright," Ed said, "I'll admit it. I guess there is something going on here. But, like Havoc said, nothing we can do until tomorrow. I'm going to bed."

"But brother, it's so early…."

"I'm tired, alright? Just-"

"You really should report to the Colonel before going to sleep anyways," Al said. "He'll want to hear that there's something going on. You know that."

As much as Ed did not want to talk to the Colonel, he had to admit that his brother was right. He really did need to report to Mustang, especially now that they had some actual information _to_ report. Reluctantly, he used the phone in the hotel room to dial up the number for Eastern Command. Within two minutes, he was on the phone with the Colonel.

"Hello, Fullmetal," he said. "Have you already run into some sort of a problem?"

"Hi, um, no Colonel, I'm just calling because we have some new information about the town, and I think you were right, it does seem like there's something weird going on here…."

"Go on."

"The townspeople hate State Alchemists, first of all. I'm not going to be able to pull rank that way, I won't get anywhere. But it's more than that. Lieutenant Havoc asked a bunch of different people if they knew anything about where the town's alchemists had gone, and they all said the exact same thing. I mean the _exact_ same thing, like same words and everything. And-"

Ed broke off as a wave of dizziness washed over him. Frantically, he reached out and steadied himself on the bedside table, sure that if he wasn't holding onto something he would fall. His vision started to swim, then tunnel. He tried to breathe deeply, tried not to pass out right then and there, still on the phone with the Colonel.

And then the vertigo started to vanish, just as quickly as it had come. Now, he could hear the Colonel was still on the other side of the phone.

"Fullmetal?" he said sharply. "Is something wrong? Are you alright?"

"Um, bad reception, talk to you later Colonel," Ed said. Then he slammed the phone down. He stood by the table, breathing heavily. What...what had just happened?

"Brother?" Al was using his worried voice (or his more worried than usual voice). "Are you alright?"

"I'm just fine!" Ed said, probably a bit too cheerfully. Sounding manic even to himself, he carried on. "The phone call had some bad reception. That's all!"

Al still looked a little suspicious, and Ed yawned gigantically. "Okay, guess it's time to go to bed!"

Before Al could protest, he turned out all the lights and got ready for bed, hoping that the dizziness wouldn't return.

When Ed opened his eyes the next morning, he regretted it immediately. His head was throbbing, and the light from the sun peeking in the windows was searing his brain. He winced and sat up. He felt like the room was spinning around him, like he was somehow off-kilter to the rest of the world. He closed his eyes and waited for the feeling to pass. Eventually, the unpleasant tilting sensation in his stomach subsided, and he cautiously opened his eyes again.

Carefully, he climbed out of bed. Each fresh movement sent waves of pain radiating from the spot right behind his eyes all the way down his spine. Ed vowed to ignore them. He had things to do. Besides, he didn't want to worry Al, mostly because his little brother wouldn't stop nagging at him. So he'd just have to make sure Al didn't notice anything was wrong.

* * *

Al watched Ed through narrowed eyes. His brother was moving slower than usual, like every step hurt him. Even his ridiculous hair antenna looked a little droopy. And that dizziness last night… But maybe he was just tired. The circles under his eyes could be from a series of poor nights' sleep. Al resolved to watch Ed closely, to see if he showed any more symptoms. He knew that Ed wouldn't tell him something was wrong until the last possible minute, so he'd just have to find out on his own.

"Hey. It's Havoc. Open up."

Ed turned towards the door, but didn't make any move to open it. Al let Havoc in, increasingly worried about his brother.

Havoc clearly didn't notice anything was wrong. He bounced into the room, slapped Al lightly on his armored back, and sank into his chair.

"How did hitting on the receptionist go?" Ed asked, sounding a little scornful.

Havoc grinned and took out a cigarette. "Great! She's so nice! And helpful, except when I asked anything that connects to our actual mission… And so pretty, too!"

Al giggled softly. He liked Havoc. And Ed seemed to like him as well, which in some ways, was more important. If Ed didn't like someone, there was usually lots of screaming.

"Let's get breakfast, and we can figure out the rest of the day then," Ed said, cutting Havoc off.

"Is all you care about food?" Havoc asked. He didn't sound angry or annoyed, just genuinely curious.

"Yes," Al and Ed said at almost the same time. Havoc shook his head slightly, and the three of them made their way down to the inn's tavern again.

"Hey, are you alright?" Havoc said, squinting slightly at Ed once they were sitting in the natural light of the window. "You look...pale."

"I'm fine!" Ed said, slamming his metal hand down on the table. "I just didn't sleep well last night! Why does everyone keep asking?"

"Okay, sorry, sorry," Havoc said, already having moved on to staring at the receptionist every time the tavern doors opened and offered him a brief glimpse of her.

But, examining his brother more closely, Al thought that Havoc was right. Ed did seem quite pale. His eyes were sunken slightly into his face. He looked sickly.

But, when the three breakfasts arrived, Ed ate all of his own and a hearty portion of Al's too, so Al thought that he couldn't be too bad off. As long as Ed was still eating normally, there couldn't be anything seriously wrong with him. He must be alright.

"So what are we trying to do today?" Ed asked around a mouthful of toast. "Kidnap and question some people? Maybe break into a few places?"

"Brother, no!" Al said, voice horrified.

"I was joking," Ed said, mouth still full. Al wasn't sure that this was entirely true, but he let it slide.

"I was thinking we could just try to walk around town and gather more information," Havoc said. "The same way I did last night."  
Ed shrugged. "Alright, that sounds fun. And I would like to see some more of the town."

Havoc narrowed his eyes slightly. "I don't think you're going to be coming. I'm sure everyone in town knows you're a State Alchemist by now. We won't be able to get anything done."

Ed frowned and scratched his head, musing over the problem. "I've got it!" he announced, eyes brightening a little.

"What is it, brother?"

"We'll all wear disguises!" Ed grinned, clearly certain that he'd found the key to the problem at hand. Havoc shook his head.

"I don't need a disguise. And it's gonna be pretty hard to disguise Al… Plus, a disguise will just make you seem a lot more suspicious."

Al sighed quietly. He would actually quite like a disguise. Then maybe people wouldn't stare at him all the time… A cool disguise, not tacky like whatever Ed would likely create.

While he was longing for anonymity, Ed and Havoc continued to argue.

"It won't be suspicious! No one will know it's me! That's the point of a disguise, duh!"

"Just what exactly are you planning to wear?" Havoc asked critically, and before Ed could answer, Al jumped in.

"Ooh! Brother, you should disguise yourself as a girl!"

Havoc grinned. "Actually, that's a pretty good idea. Your hair's long, covers your face...the height-"

"DON'T CALL ME LITTLE!"

"-yeah, that could work pretty well. As long as he doesn't talk to anyone…" He looked over at Al, above the red-faced, rage-filled Ed. "Good thinking, kid."

"Thanks," Al said proudly. He thought it was a pretty good idea, too. And Havoc probably knew something about disguises… Al wasn't exactly sure what Havoc's job entailed, but he had a vague idea that somewhere, it probably involved cool things like disguises and Top-Secret-Missions stamped For-Your-Eyes-Only. Al figured that he knew what he was talking about, and he hoped that Ed would take their advice.

Ed did not. He got up in a huff, placing his metal hand flat against the table to support himself.

"I'm not gonna dress up like a girl," he said flatly, and stomped out of the tavern, muttering about disguises and fake hair as he went.


	2. Chapter 2

Ed trudged up the stairs to their room, leaning slightly on the bannister as he climbed. Now that he had left Al and Havoc and wasn't forcing himself to act normal, he was exhausted. His headache hadn't gotten any better, and now that he wasn't distracted by the disguise debacle, all he could think about was the throbbing at his temples.

And almost as bad as the headache was the strange dizziness that had been dogging him all day. It wasn't the same as the intense wave of unsteadiness that had washed over him last night, but just a low, constant feeling of being slightly faint. He found that it was a little hard to walk if he wasn't holding onto something. He was too lightheaded to keep his balance well.

Ed paused in the hallway once he had finished climbing the stairs. He felt embarrassingly winded from climbing just a few flights. That small effort had left him feeling like he needed a nap.

He braced his left hand on the wall, letting it take some of his weight. Abruptly, he realized that his hand was trembling quite badly. Quickly, he pulled it off the wall and staggered into his room.

Ed had been intending to try to assemble his disguise as soon as he got to his room, so he could put it together in peace, before Al and Havoc got back from the tavern. But now that it actually came down to it, he found that he couldn't. At least not yet. He had to rest for a few moments first.

He peeled his jacket off, a little shocked at how much more than normal his shoulders hurt. In fact, his whole body ached, so much it was rather difficult to move. And his head was still throbbing….

He wondered if he was running a fever. He had no idea how to tell. But he was starting to consider the fact that there might be something actually wrong with him. No bad night of sleep or long day of travel could lay him out like this.

Ed sat down on the bed, groaning slightly. He considered his various options. He could always tell Al and Havoc that he thought there was something wrong, of course, but he would rather not do that. Havoc had unveiled enough to determine that there actually was something shady going on in the town, and he couldn't very well leave now when there was still investigating to be done. Plus, he was certain that if he told Havoc that he was ill Havoc would tell Mustang, and Ed couldn't have that. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he had a strong sense that if Mustang found out Ed was sick Ed would be embarrassed. He wanted Mustang to think he could handle this sort of thing on his own. He wanted to prove he didn't need a babysitter.

It was settled then. The best course of action was almost certainly to completely ignore the situation, so that's what he would do. He would aggressively pretend none of his symptoms were happening, and try to hide all signs of illness from Havoc and Al. It shouldn't be too hard, he didn't think, as long as he kept eating normally and didn't collapse anywhere. And he was sure he would be better in a day or two.

Ed sat on his bed, gathering his strength until he felt ready to assemble his disguise. Eventually, he got up - slowly - and began to rummage through his suitcase. He grabbed a spare shirt, the blanket off Al's bed, and a pillowcase. Then, he placed his palms together and there was a flash of blue light.

Ed examined himself in the mirror proudly. The large floppy hat hid the upper part of his face, and the bushy moustache made him look much older. He stuffed his hair up under the hat and wrapped the transmuted blanket-cloak around his shoulders. He nodded in satisfaction. _If I passed myself on the street,_ he thought, _I wouldn't even give myself a second glance._

But what about his voice? Would anyone recognize that? He tried a few voices out in the silence of the room, and finally settled on one that was as deep and gruff as he could make it. He thought that it went with the moustache rather well.

He turned to leave the room, putting a hand on the wall to steady himself. The dizziness was there, lurking in the background. Whenever he moved, it crept forward slightly, like it was reminding him of its presence. But Ed wasn't about to forget it. Even turning his head gave him a strange swirling feeling. And he wasn't entirely sure, but he thought the sensation was worsening. Now, he wasn't sure how long he could keep himself upright without support. He was worried that with one wrong step, he'd be unable to keep his balance and he'd end up on the ground.

But he couldn't afford to sit here and do nothing. And besides, he didn't want his clever disguise to go to waste. He left the room, trailing one hand along the wall as he made his way laboriously down the stairs.

* * *

Al trailed after Havoc as he traipsed through the streets of Tranquility, waving and smiling to the passerby. Quite a few of them, he greeted by name.

"Have...have you been here before?" Al asked.

"Nope, first time," Havoc answered, waving to an old woman selling oranges. "Hello, Gladys."

"Then...how...?"

Havoc shrugged. "I mean, I've been here since last night...and Meggy-"

"Who?" Al asked, hopelessly lost.

"Our lovely receptionist. Meggy knows almost everyone in Tranquility! She introduced me to so many people, she's so nice…."

Al smiled to himself. "What did she say about the missing alchemists?" he asked, interrupting Havoc's rapture over his new crush.

"Oh...same thing as everyone else. But- she added that I should talk to the mayor. And so we are going to the Town Hall." He pointed a little ways up the street. "There it is."

"Brother, can you please take off the costume before we go any further?" Al begged. It was impossible to take Ed seriously when he was sporting a floppy hat, a long coat, and most disturbingly, a mustache.

"It's not a costume it's a disguise!" Ed said irritably, flapping his arms around in distress.

Al had chosen the word costume on purpose. A prerequisite of a disguise was that it actually did some _disguising,_ and Ed's mustache and hat combo were falling sorely short of that. The majority of his face was still visible, and there was no way to make his height anything but a dead give away. Ed had adopted some sort of strange, gruff-voiced persona, but that was causing them to attract more attention, not less.

"Can't you take it off, kid?" Havoc asked. "Please?"

"I don't want anyone to know I'm a State Alchemist," Ed said, lowering his voice slightly. "So I need to keep it on. It _is_ helping."

Just then, a stranger bumped into Ed, so hard he almost went sprawling into the street. Al automatically reached out to steady him, and Ed shrugged him off angrily. He immediately straightened up, looking ready to fight the man who had nudged him.

"Hey," the man said, eyes narrowing. "I know you. You're the State Alchemist from the tavern yesterday. How...how are you still walking around?"

Ed looked genuinely confused. Maybe he was surprised the man had recognized him. He struggled to come up with an answer. "I...what?"

But before the man could even open his mouth to reply, a woman had swept up behind him. She grabbed his arm and let him quietly away, both of them avoiding eye contact with Ed.

"Hey!" Havoc yelled after them. "Wait! Where are you going?"

But the two figures were already gone, disappeared down one of the side streets or into the crowd.

"Well that was...weird," Ed said, frowning a little. "What did it mean?"

"It means your disguise isn't working," Havoc said firmly. "No offense, but Al and I aren't going to get anything done if you're here, no one here trusts you. Just go back to the hotel, please, and we'll meet back up with you in a few hours."

Ed looked like he was going to argue, but something in him seemed to give way and he slumped downwards a little bit. He morosely peeled away the mustache and let it drop into the street. "Fine," he sighed. "I'll go back to the hotel."

Al watched his brother shuffle off down the street, oversized hat drooping sadly. He frowned. It was unlike Ed to give in without an argument. Maybe he still wasn't feeling well…. But they had almost reached the town hall, and Al forced himself to focus on the object at hand. When he got back to the hotel, then he could make sure that Ed wasn't hiding anything major.

Tranquility City Hall was a smallish brick building, indicated only by a painted sign mounted above the door. There were no gates, and not even any guards. It didn't even look like there was a greeter. Al frowned. The building looked completely deserted.

Havoc walked up the well-swept steps and tried the door at the top. "It's locked," he said, sounding personally offended. "But Meggy said…."

Down on the street, a young man about Havoc's age stopped. "What are you doing?" he asked curiously.

Havoc turned around, jumping guiltily, like he'd been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to. But from the look on the young man's face, he had. Al shook his head. _What's going on here?_

"Oh, it's the lieutenant," the young man said.

"Luc!" Havoc looked slightly relieved. "Al, this is Meggy's older brother. She introduced me last night when he came to take her home."

Al was once again shocked by how quickly Havoc had integrated himself into what appeared to be a fairly insular town.

"We wanted to see the mayor," Al put in quietly.

Instantly, Luc frowned. "What do you want to do that for?"

Once again, Havoc swooped in. "Oh, we just want to talk to him about the emergency protocol in Tranquility, just check the box, you know?" He grinned foolishly.

Luc seemed to buy it, because his face relaxed into a smile. "Oh, well, that's easy enough. Select areas of the town hall are open to the public every second Tuesday, from 10am to 2pm."

"Okay, well, tomorrow's Tuesday, that should be fine-"

"And the mayor is available every night after five."

"Where?"

"The town hall."

"But you just said that the town hall closes at 2…"

"It does. No members of the public can enter, not unless you serve on the Tranquility town council!"

If Al had a physical body, his head would have hurt. Luc nodded, smiling, like he'd just helped them.

"Uhh, thanks," Havoc said. "See you around." He turned and began to walk back down the street.

"What was...they really don't want people to see the mayor, do they?" Al asked.

"Or the town hall," Havoc pointed out. "Up for a little breaking and entering tonight?"

* * *

Ed was finally starting to suspect that there might be something really wrong with him. Walking was difficult. His eyes didn't quite seem to be working correctly, the world in front of him was warped and stretched in a way that made it hard to keep his balance. A few times, he reached out to steady himself on random objects, and missed. The light seemed to be hitting his eyes in a funny way, he felt like he was constantly needing to blink away dark spots. He put a shaking hand to his temple, as if that would make him feel better.

He suddenly wasn't sure he was actually going to be able to make it back to the inn. He shouldn't have left Al and Havoc, not when he felt like this. It was too much of a struggle to stay upright on his own. He was going to collapse, he was sure of it. And there would be no one for him to call, nowhere for him to go.

At least he didn't think Al and Havoc knew how ill he was, and that had to count for something. He didn't want to be forced back to East City, and he wouldn't be, as long as he kept acting normal.

All he had to do was make it back to the hotel room. It was just another five minutes. He could rest for a little bit, and by the time Al and Havoc got back he would be back to his normal self. He had to be. He just had to not pass out on the way to the inn.

Ed wanted to curl up in the darkness, being out in the light like this was sending spikes of pain radiating through his head and neck. And being in the dark would allow him to ignore the black spots that were still dancing in front of his eyes, blurring his vision and making him feel like he might be sick. He tried closing his eyes, hoping that would help some, but it didn't. It just made him notice the _sound._ Every conversation from pedestrians sounded like a thousand pots and pans clanging together. Every time a car passed, it sounded like thunder to him.

One of Ed's legs buckled beneath him, and he barely managed to catch himself on a lamppost. He just stood there for a few moments, forehead pressed into the cool metal, trying to recover his breath. Abruptly, he started to worry that that the pain might make him cry, and he bit his lip and swallowed hard.

He debated curling up right here in the street and trying to wait out the worst of it. That seemed easier than walking. Anything seemed easier than walking. But he...he couldn't stop now, because then Al and Havoc would find him. There wasn't much room in his head for any thoughts that weren't about the pain, but he knew he didn't want that. He needed to get back to the inn. It was just a little farther.

He pushed himself upright and staggered onward. With every step he took, he expected to crumple into the street. But somehow, he managed to keep moving forward. He kept his eyes lidded, allowing only the bare minimum of light to enter, just enough to see where he was going. He tried not to focus too hard on anything in particular, the effort made the migraine worse. Through his slitted eyes, he finally saw the hotel. He turned into the drive, every impact of his foot on the ground sending shockwaves of pain through his skull.

Ed made it to the door and paused. He felt like someone was hammering a steel rod into his brain, and he thought he might be sick. But he was almost there…. He pushed open the door and walked past Havoc's receptionist, barely registering her concerned expression.

The stairs proved too much for him. Even leaning heavily on the bannister, he couldn't make himself climb them. It just required too much thought.

He let go of the bannister and sank to his hands and knees. Closing his eyes, he began to crawl up the stairs. He paused a few times, out of breath. The pain in his skull was so intense that everything was tight, every muscle tensed against the migraine. Just breathing normally seemed, at this point, like an impossible task.

Finally, Ed reached the hallway and tried to stand. But as he rose to a kneeling position, the blinding pain intensified, and he dropped back down with a gasp. He forced himself to keep crawling down the hallway, despite his instinct to just lie down right there. Just a few more feet, and he would be alright.

Ed pushed the door to his room open and collapsed on the bed - just in time. A few minutes after he'd made it to the room, the pain spiked. The migraine grew until that was all he could think about, and soon, he wasn't thinking at all.

* * *

Al knocked on the door to the room he shared with Ed, Havoc hovering eagerly behind him.

"Brother?" Ed didn't answer. Al shook his head. Had Ed gone out on his own in his ridiculous disguise? He wouldn't be surprised….

But then, Ed pulled open the door, yawning widely. "Hey, Al," he said. "Find anything?"

"Were you...sleeping?"

Ed stepped back to let Al and Havoc enter, and Al thought he was moving more carefully than usual.

"Yeah, I took a nap. So, what'd you find?"

Havoc's eyes narrowed. "Are you...sure you're alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Ed snapped. "Now will everyone just stop asking? Just tell me what you found."  
But Ed's response didn't stop Al from worrying. If even Havoc noticed that Ed looked off, then there likely was something wrong. And he did look really pale. But he wasn't acting particularly strange, aside from the ginger way he was moving, and Al knew if he brought it up again he would get only an irritated response.

"You'll be happy," Havoc said. "We couldn't get into the Town Hall. We're breaking in tonight."

As expected, Ed immediately straightened up. "A break in?" he said excitedly. "Cool. Are we going to need another disguise?"

"No!" Havoc said at almost the exact same time as Al. Ed wilted a little.

"But we will need to wear all black," Havoc said.

Ed shrugged, like he accepted that as a reasonable compromise. "What time are we going?"

Havoc peered out the window. "It's not even dark yet, so at least a few hours still. We need to wait for the streets to clear off. I'm going to go get some lunch. I assume you want to come?" He looked pointedly at Ed.

But, to everyone's surprise, Ed shook his head. "I, uh, ate right when I got back here," he said quickly.

Havoc stared at him. "And you're not hungry again?"

"Um, no. Not really. I'm...I'm still stuffed."

Al didn't think Ed looked stuffed. He thought he looked rather ill, like he might throw up if he tried eating. But he decided not to press the issue.

"If you're going to stay here, you should report in to Colonel Mustang again," Al reminded him gently.

"No," Ed whined. "Can't Havoc do it?"

"But I'm about to get lunch, and you're not doing anything." Before Ed could protest anymore, Havoc had walked out the door. Al sighed.

"He's right, brother. You should really report. You are technically the person he gave the assignment to."

"Fine, I'll do it," Ed groused. Al waited. "I'm doing it!" He began dialing, each movement slightly more aggressive than necessary. When he caught Al looking, he scowled impressively. Then the phone crackled to life and he sighed. Al waited to make sure that he was actually going to make the call. When he was satisfied, he went after Havoc. The three of them needed to discuss the plan for tonight, and they didn't have time for Havoc to be distracted by the receptionist's many charms. As he closed the door behind him, he heard Ed muttering angrily into the phone.

* * *

Ed tucked the phone into his shoulder and sighed, covering his aching eyes with a hand. The Colonel was in a bad mood today, probably because he was down two people to bully.

"You _still_ haven't found anything concrete?!"

"We're breaking into their secret Town Hall thing tonight," Ed said defensively.

"Their secret _Town Hall?_ " Mustang asked, packing more condescension into "town hall" than Ed would have previously thought possible.

"According to Havoc, they had...suspicious hours," Ed said. To tell the truth, he wasn't entirely sure why the building was important. When Havoc had explained it, Ed had still been recovering from the migraine. In fact, the headache was still there. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been, but he was having a little difficulty focusing. Any sudden movement sent a shock of pain through him, disorienting him more.

He tuned back into the phone call to hear Mustang's voice, increasingly annoyed, ask him if he was listening. He rubbed his temples and nodded, then remembered Mustang couldn't see him.

"Yeah, I'm here."

Mustang paused mid-lecture, and his voice became slightly indignant. "Are you sick, Fullmetal? You sound odd."

"I'm fine," Ed said, trying to force an edge of anger into the words. But they just sounded flat and clearly untrue.

"If you're ill-"

Ed didn't wait to hear the end of the sentence, he just slammed the phone down, unplugged it from the wall, and breathed a sigh of relief in the blessed silence.

 _Come on, Ed,_ he thought to himself. _You need to pull yourself together_.

What was it exactly that had happened as he'd been walking back towards the hotel? He hadn't been feeling well for the past day and a half, and he still wasn't feeling great. But the shivery, achy feeling that permeated his body now was nothing, _nothing,_ compared to the headache that had consumed him as he was trying to return to the inn. He was terrified to move too fast in case he accidentally made it return.

Already, the blinding headache felt almost like a dream. Had he really been in so much pain that he'd had to crawl up the stairs? He was glad that his mind seemed to have mostly blocked it out. The memory was hazy and blurred. He could barely come up with anything that had happened between ending up in the hotel room and Al and Havoc returning.

And the worst part was that he knew the migraine could come back at any time. He could still feel it, pulsing faintly behind his eyes. It was manageable now, but he knew it could become all-consuming again in an instant.

To be completely honest, Ed wasn't entirely sure how he was going to handle tonight. He wanted to see what was inside the Town Hall as much as Al and Havoc did, and he knew he couldn't leave the town uninvestigated, not when there was so clearly something suspicious going on. But at this point he couldn't stop shaking, and he still kind of felt like at any moment he might be sick. His shoulders and back ached so badly he didn't think he'd be able to fight very well if it came to that, and his balance was shot anyways.

He also had no idea how he would be able to keep hiding how ill he was from Al and Havoc. They were both already suspicious, and if he got another one of the insane migraines tonight he knew there would be absolutely no way that he could keep it from them. All he could do was pray that it had been a one time thing.

He wrapped a blanket around his shoulders, hoping that it would help with some of the shivering, and then made his way to the bathroom. He managed a few sips of water from the sink, which did actually help a little bit. At least now his throat didn't feel so dry.

He considered going down to the tavern and trying to eat something with Al and Havoc. But he didn't want to push it, and the more time he was with them, the more time they had to question what was wrong. He might as well try to get some rest while he could anyways. Gather his strength for tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

Al, Ed, and Havoc walked through the deserted streets of Tranquility. At first, Al had winced at every unavoidable clank of his armor, but he'd quickly realized that no one was around to hear them. Which, if you asked him, seemed a little odd.

"Do you think it's strange that the streets are completely empty?" Al whispered.

"It is weird," Havoc muttered. "Even in small towns, you get drunks stumbling home at all hours…. It's not even that late."

Ed shrugged impatiently. "The why doesn't matter," he said. "Let's just be glad we aren't going to get spotted. Guess we didn't need to wear all black after all."

Havoc looked slightly hurt, and Al frowned. This wasn't like his brother at all. Ed was the most curious person he knew, and a lot of the trouble they'd found over the years came from Ed sticking his nose somewhere it didn't belong. And once he found something interesting, he wouldn't let it go. And not wanting to wear all black? Maybe Ed was feeling worse than he let on. Al resolved to confront him about it once they finished up with the Town Hall. This time, he'd nag at Ed until he got the truth.

The Town Hall was, predictably, unoccupied. Al and Ed trailed behind Havoc as he went to the door and dropped to a knee in front of the lock. He produced a set of picks from a pocket and went to work. After a minute, he sat back, frowning.

"This lock's really advanced. The military uses these for their high grade weaponry in the armories, what the hell is one doing here in the middle of nowhere?"

"Big deal, I can just break it with alchemy," Ed pointed out rather rudely, Al thought.

"Well, then they'll know someone broke in. And it's starting to look like they've got something to hide," Havoc said angrily.

"He's right, brother," Al said quickly, before the situation could escalate further. "We can just find another entrance."

Ed shrugged as Havoc began to slink around the edge of the building. Al stared at his brother, more worried than ever. Ed never gave up on an argument like that. He viewed silence as an admission of defeat. But if he brought it up now, Ed would just deny everything again. Al didn't have time to bully his brother into telling him the truth, not in the middle of a secret mission under the cover of darkness.

The three started making their way around to the back of the building. Part of Al was expecting alarms to start blaring at any moment, but the area around them remained completely deserted and silent. It was almost eerie. Al could hear the other two breathing.

The back of the Town Hall had no doors at all. Ed sighed angrily. "Why is this all so hard?" he groaned.

"Maybe because they don't want us to be able to see whatever's inside?" Havoc snapped. "Did you expect to just be able to waltz right in?"

"No, but I thought there would at least be some _doors_ …."

Al cut them off again before either of them could continue. "Look," he said pointing at a window set high into the wall of the Town Hall. "We can get in through that. Even if we need to break it, it shouldn't be hard to use alchemy to put it back exactly as it was."

Havoc carefully examined the window, then shook his head. "I won't be able to fit through there, and obviously you won't be able to either, Al." He paused. "If only one of us were really _small…."_

Havoc glanced pointedly at Ed. Ed was leaning against the wall of the building, looking greyish and exhausted, and Al genuinely wasn't sure if he was ignoring Havoc or if he simply hadn't been listening.

"Brother?" Al asked. "Do you...does it look like you could fit through?"

Ed finally looked up at Al, and Al began to worry more when he realized how unfocused Ed's eyes were. For a long few seconds, Ed just stared at him, blinking sluggishly. Then, finally, he looked up at the window. He sighed.

"Yeah, I'll fit," he said. He sounded resigned, but normally anything that brought up his height made him seethe with anger and there wasn't a trace of that in his face. "You'll have to lift me up though."

"Are you sure you're alright to do this, kid?" Havoc asked, eyes slightly narrowed. Clearly, he could also sense that something was very wrong with Ed.

Ed didn't even answer, just began trying to weakly clamber onto Al's shoulders. Al bent down so he would have an easier time of it, and gave Ed a few moments to catch his balance before straightening back up.

Al heard the faint metallic sound of his brother doing alchemy, and then a slight clatter as the pane of glass came out of its setting and fell into the building. Then he felt his weight shift as Ed climbed off of his shoulders and let the window take his weight.

"If I'm not back in an hour, I'm probably in trouble," Ed said. "So, um, it would be nice if you came in after me."

Al looked up just in time to see him retreat from the opening where the window had been. Then he was gone.

* * *

Ed teetered on the high windowsill for a few seconds, then leapt down into the town hall. Usually, a drop from this height wouldn't have been a problem for him, but now, he felt his knees buckle beneath him. His head pounded sickeningly and he crouched on the wooden floor, clutching his skull and waiting for the ache to subside.

It didn't, not really, but Ed forced himself to his feet. He braced himself against the wall as his vision blurred slightly, then shifted back into focus. But even without the horrible dizziness, he still felt weak and shaky. _Good thing we're doing this at night_ , Ed thought. He wasn't sure that he could fight in his current condition. He wasn't even sure he could walk without using the wall for support.

But at this point, it was pretty clear that all was not as peaceful as it seemed in the quiet little town. They didn't know what was wrong, but it was obvious that this building was their best chance to figure it out. Which meant that Ed had to pull himself together and get through the mission. The sooner he solved the mystery of the vanishing alchemists, the sooner he could be recovering back in East City. He chose a direction at random and set off slowly through the darkened hallways.

After wandering aimlessly for a few minutes, passing innocuous conference rooms and offices, Ed was starting to doubt Havoc's intel. He hadn't seen a single thing that looked out of the ordinary, much less suspicious. And with every step, his legs seemed to get shakier. By now, he was practically pulling himself along the wall. He knew that if he let go, he'd be on the ground in a matter of seconds.

But even so, he didn't want to return to Al and Havoc empty-handed...especially when he felt like this. He was pretty sure that even Havoc would notice something if he came back in this state. _I'll just go a little farther,_ he told himself, and resumed his slow progress along the corridor.

He reached the end of the hallway and frowned. Nothing, just a bunch of offices and a janitor's closet. Everything exactly as it should be… He paused. The janitor's closet - why was it so inconveniently located, tucked away at the end of a hallway in the back of the building? And, even as sick as he was, he noticed that the hallway's back wall stopped significantly before it should have. _Secret room?_ Ed started to get excited, even with the waves of pain pulsing through his skull.

The janitor's closet was locked. _Why lock up cleaning supplies?_ But the lock was simple enough, and Ed placed his hands on it. With a sizzle, the tumblers clicked back and Ed stepped through the door.

At first, the room was too dark for Ed to make out much of anything. All he could see were vague shadows that looked like table and the outlines of some sinister-looking equipment piled high in one corner. Then he realized there was a window set in the opposite wall, blinds down. Shakily, he made his way across the room, using random tables to support his body weight as he made his slow progress.

Finally, he reached the window and forced the blinds open, letting moonlight into the dim room. Now that he could see a little bit better, he looked around, eyes widening as he tried to take everything in.

The room was some strange cross between a lab and a church. There were occult symbols scrawled on the wall in what looked to Ed like blood, and a row of candles arranged in an intentional-looking pattern on one of the low wooden tables. The other tables seemed to be occupied mostly with science equipment, beakers and tubes and jars of strange ingredients. There were tall bookshelves shoved into one corner, and Ed found he couldn't even identify all the languages written on the spines.

He stumbled to one of the tables loaded with beakers and jars. This particular experiment seemed to actually be in progress. There were bowls of dark powders carefully laid out, and some sort of clear liquid in a beaker nearby. He stared at the array before him for a long few moments, wishing his head would stop pounding for a few seconds so he could think. He took a few deep, steadying breaths.

And then everything seemed to click into place. The dark, shiny powder in the bowls...he recognized it. Not from real life, but from pictures in books that he had read. It was a poison, well-known both because of the painful symptoms it caused, and because the material itself was impossible to transmute, making it that much more dangerous.

He didn't recognize any of the other raw materials on the table, but he didn't really need to. He could only assume that they were poisons too, all different varieties.

Ed put a shaking hand to his pounding temple. Was that...was that what was wrong with him? Had he somehow been poisoned?

He thought back to the tavern at the inn, and winced. He'd announced to everyone in the room that he was a State Alchemist. If that made him a good target for poisoning, there were any number of people who could have actually slipped it into his food. And he had started feeling ill almost immediately after that first meal.

The world tilted sickeningly around him, and he leaned heavily on the table, breathing hard. He had to figure out what was going on in the town and then get out of here. He didn't have much time, he knew he needed to get back to East City and to a hospital as soon as he could.

The answer had to be in this room, it seemed to be the center of whatever weird cult had taken over this town. Ed leaned against the table, scanning the room for any clue to the whereabouts of the missing alchemists. But whenever he moved his head, his eyes unfocused and the world around him blurred. Even when he was still, he had to force himself to focus past the pounding headache. It was getting worse again, the pain in his temples just short of unbearable. Ed thought that another migraine might be coming on. His symptoms would only increase.

Suddenly, a thin cry caught Ed's attention and he whirled to the source of the sound. He gasped and clutched his skull as the pain spiked. But when his vision cleared and he could think again, the sound was still coming from...where?

Ed closed his eyes and tried to shut out everything but the mewling noise. He frowned. Was it coming from...beneath him? Very carefully, he knelt and examined the floor. His searching fingers revealed a seam in the wood, and in a few more seconds, he'd found a carefully concealed release. He pressed it, and a trapdoor dropped open, leading into blackness.

* * *

Al stood outside the open window, trying not to worry about his brother. Ed had been gone for quite a while. Of course, that might mean he'd found something. And there hadn't been any noise from the empty hall, so presumably, Ed was alright. All they could do was wait for him to return, hopefully with new information.

Beside Al, Havoc smoked quietly, seemingly unperturbed by Ed's long absence. Al supposed that he had the right idea. _Big brother is fine,_ he told himself. _Just try to relax._ Looking for something to distract himself, he turned to Havoc.

"Did you talk to Meggy today?"

Havoc's whole face lit up. Smiling goofily, he nodded. "I took her to a cute little restaurant on her lunch break. She's so nice! And smart, too, she's saving up for university! That's why she's working at the inn…"

Al smiled, a little sadly. "I wish I could meet a nice girl, too," he said wistfully.

Havoc patted him on the back, and his armor clanged slightly. "Don't worry, Al. You'll find someone…"

Al crossed his arms, clanking again. "How am I gonna find a girl when I look like a scary statue?"

Havoc shrugged. "The right girl won't care how you look. Or how many hours you work...or judge your weird family...or expect you to cover her with money...or cheat on you-" he broke off, looking a little embarrassed. "She'll just love you for who you are."

Al thought about it. He hoped Havoc was right, but the 2nd Lieutenant wasn't exactly a success story. Still, he wanted to be optimistic. "I hope I find her someday…"

"Me too, kid, me too."

* * *

The drop down from the trapdoor was at least ten feet. Normally, Ed could have rolled with the impact and come up standing, but not today. He landed heavily in a heap on the ground, the breath going out of him. His head throbbed nauseatingly. For a long few seconds, he was fairly certain that he wasn't going to be able to get back up again. Every part of his body ached, and he had to keep blinking, fighting the urge to black out.

Finally, Ed managed to collect himself a little bit and drag himself into a sitting position. He looked around the new room. This one was much darker than the room above had been, and there was no window he could open to let in any more light. He couldn't even tell how big the space was, let alone what it might contain.

"What's going on?" he heard someone hiss from the darkness on the other side of the room.

Immediately, Ed stiffened. "Is...is someone there?" he said, fighting to keep his voice steady.  
For a long few moments, no one answered, and part of Ed was sure that he'd hallucinated the entire thing. "Who...who's there?" he finally said quietly.

This time, he got a sudden response. "Please don't torture us anymore!" he heard a voice burst out. "We didn't do anything, please!"  
To Ed's shock and horror, he realized the voice was that of a child. "What's happening?" he said. He was still too shaky to stand, but he started slowly inching himself forward, towards the voices. "Who are you?"

"You're...you're not here to hurt us?" said a third voice, sounding somewhat surprised.

"No, no, why would I hurt you?" Ed said. "I don't even know who you are."  
Ed's eyes were finally starting to adjust to the darkness, and he could make out some faint shapes on the other side of the room. He could barely see the glint of metal - bars, he thought, like in a jail cell. Behind the bars he glimpsed the blurry forms of maybe five people.

"Are you here to rescue us?" he heard the child's voice say.

"Are you...are you the missing alchemists?" Ed asked. He still wasn't entirely sure what was going on, and trying to put all the pieces together was making his head hurt. But he was fairly certain of that fact, at least. Who else would the town consider dangerous enough to lock up behind bars?

"Yes." This was the first voice again, the one who had spoken right after Ed first fell through the trapdoor. "Please, you need to help us, they're going to kill us…."

"Tell me what's going on," Ed said frantically, fighting to focus through the mounting pain in his head.

"The town has been taken over by a group of religious fanatics," the voice said again. "They told us that alchemy wasn't going to be allowed anymore, but we...we didn't realize how much they were going to enforce it and continued to practice. After the first few months, they started…taking those who refused to cooperate."

Ed clutched his temples, trying to understand. "The...the whole town is in on this?"

"It seems like it," the first voice told him. "Please, you have to help - they're planning to make an example of us or something...they called it a 'sacrifice' and I think it's tomorrow, at the town festival…."

"They're...they're going to kill you?" Ed asked dizzily.

"Yes, tomorrow," the voice said again. "You have to help us, please…."

Somewhere beyond his field of vision, Ed heard the child begin to cry softly.

"I'll break you out," he told them. "Hang on a second."

Ed pushed himself toward the cell. He placed his hands against the bars and waited for the familiar ringing sound, for the feeling of unity with his surroundings that always accompanied alchemy. Nothing happened. Try as he might, he couldn't focus, and the bars remained unbent. The pain in his head had become severe enough that his thoughts were muddled, and he couldn't clear them enough for alchemy. He could barely think around the throbbing ache. He certainly couldn't come up with a plan to free the five alchemists, much less lead them out of the building. At this point, his best option was to go get help.

"I'm sorry…." Ed muttered, staring at his hands in dismay. "It's...it's not working…."

The kid started to cry harder, and Ed felt his insides tense up.

"What's wrong?" one of the adults asked sharply. "Why isn't it working?"

"I think...I think I've been poisoned," Ed whispered. " My head hurts too bad, I...I can't focus. But I'll come back. I'll go get my friends, we'll get you out of here…."

"Hurry," the third voice said. "We don't have much time." The child sniffled in the blackness, and Ed forced himself to his feet.

"I'll get you out," he promised again, and staggered to the trapdoor far above him. He stared at it, unsure how he was going to reach the opening, then spotted a set of folding stairs he'd missed at first. Shakily, he began pulling himself up the ladder. Several times during the climb, he had to pause and close his eyes, waiting for dizziness to pass, waiting for his head to stop pounding. Once, he thought he might throw up, but he managed to swallow the pain back and he struggled onward. Eventually, he made it back to the secret room he'd discovered, and he collapsed on the floor among the strange markings, panting with pain and exhaustion.

After a few minutes, Ed knew he couldn't waste any more time. The migraine was coming fast, and he couldn't afford to collapse in the town hall, Al and Havoc stranded outside. He made it to his hands and knees, but standing up seemed out of reach. The room was swaying around him alarmingly, even when he was just staying crouched in the center of the floor. Trying to stand would just be a senseless waste of energy.

Ed began to crawl towards the exit, glancing back at the half open trapdoor as he did so. Whoever ran this town would know someone had been there, but there wasn't anything he could do about that now. And hopefully, by the time anyone would be around to see it, the alchemists would be long gone.

The hallway stretched out in front of Ed. It seemed to be rocking faintly side to side, and he closed his eyes, wishing it would stop. He felt sick enough already without the world lurching around him, and even on his hands and knees he was having a hard time keeping his balance.

Spikes of pain radiated out from behind his eyes. Based on his experiences earlier this afternoon, Ed thought he had maybe ten minutes before he passed out. At least, he hoped it would only be ten minutes. If he'd had to stay awake until the agony had faded before, he thought it might have killed him. Unconsciousness was easier, he just needed to make it out of the building first.

Slowly, Ed started to make his way down the hallway. He had no idea how long it actually might have taken to get to the end, but it felt like an eternity. He reached up and grabbed onto the windowsill. His hands were shaking so badly he could barely make his fingers work.

"Al?" he called out weakly. "Are you...are you still out there?"

He heard the faint clanking of metal as Al stood up. Normally, he barely even registered the sound, but now, it felt like it was driving bolts of pain into his temples. "Brother?" he heard Al ask. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm...I'm coming out now," Ed said, fighting to keep his voice steady. "Hang on."

Ed wasn't exactly sure how he was going to be able to get himself out of the window. His legs were still shaking hard enough he didn't think they would support his weight, and he really needed to lower himself to the ground with his arms rather than just dropping.

Impossibly slowly, Ed raised himself to his feet, leaning heavily on the wall. He fought down another wave of nausea, blinking furiously to try to clear the black spots from in front of his eyes.

"I may fall," he said out the window, clutching his head weakly with one shaking hand as the pain mounted. He wasn't sure if Al heard. He didn't hear a response, but his senses didn't quite seem to be working anymore.

He started trying to balance his body on the sill, hoping he'd be able to at least catch his breath there and figure out the best way to make it to the ground. But abruptly, his arm gave way beneath him and he tumbled from the window.

He fell limply. Some instinct told him to let his metal limbs take the force of the fall, so at least he didn't break any bones. But the impact of hitting the ground still knocked the breath out of him, and all he could do was lie there, whimpering faintly with pain.

"Brother!" he heard Al say above him. "What's wrong?"

"Is he hurt?" he heard Havoc ask. "See if you can turn him over."

Ed tried to tell Al what was happening, but he couldn't get the words out. Every time he tried to open his mouth, or move, or even really think, a bolt of pain stabbed through his skull. He felt Al turn him over, and he moaned as his vision blurred in and out. But his breath was coming back, he just needed a little longer….

Through a haze of pain, he heard Al say "I can't find anything wrong…."

Havoc's voice joined Al's. "Ed, can you hear me?"

Ed forced his eyes open and hissed in pain. "Yeah," he said weakly.

"What happened?" Al asked, and Ed cringed at the worry in his voice.

"I…" he broke off as the pain swept through him again. But he knew he didn't have much time, and there were five people who were depending on him. He had to tell Al and Havoc what he'd found, even if he passed out the second he was finished. He couldn't let the alchemists down.


	4. Chapter 4

Al tried to listen to what Ed was telling him, but he could barely focus on that, not while his brother looked so sick. Ed was ghost-white, and he looked like every movement hurt him. He sat stiffly against the wall of the town hall, trying not to move too much as he explained what he'd discovered inside the secret room. Even talking seemed to be an effort. Al shifted slightly. He still wanted to leave Tranquility, get Ed to a hospital, but he knew his brother was right. The lives of five people were at stake, one of them a child. Al thought of the last child they hadn't been able to save, and he could see on Ed's haggard face that he was thinking of her too. They couldn't leave yet, not quite.

Beside Ed, Havoc drew one of his pistols and checked the clip. It was fully loaded. Satisfied, he replaced it in the holster and turned to Al. "Okay, let's go. We'll spring those five, and then we can get Ed to a hospital."

Al looked down at Ed, half expecting him to protest the plan, especially the part that ended with him in a hospital. But Ed just leaned back against the bricks, eyes shut and sunken into his face, sweat shining on his forehead.

"Brother? I-" Al turned to Havoc. "I can't leave Ed…."

Ed opened his eyes and frowned weakly, just as Havoc raised a finger to his lips. Al listened carefully. There were footsteps on the street in front of the town hall, and they were getting closer.

"It must have been alarmed, " Havoc hissed. "Come on, we need to leave, now."

Al hoisted Ed to his feet. Ed stood, swaying slightly, a vacant expression on his face.

"Come _on_!" Havoc said impatiently.

Ed's eyelids flickered, and he took one shaky step before his legs crumpled beneath him and he hit the ground hard.

"Brother!" Al said frantically.

"Pick him up," Havoc whispered. "Quick, we need to move-"

Al leaned down and scooped Ed into his arms. Ed groaned and stirred slightly when his body was lifted, but he didn't open his eyes. Even when he was apparently asleep his face was twisted with pain.

"Where are we going?" Al asked.

"Back to the inn," Havoc said. "I think that's where we'll be safest."

"But don't we need to get brother to a hospital?"

Havoc shook his head grimly, already starting to run around the other side of the building, gesturing for Al to follow behind him. "We'll have to take him back to East City if he gets any worse," Havoc whispered. "But otherwise we should try and tough it out here. If we leave Tranquility now, those five people Ed talked to are going to die."

Al nodded a little, but he didn't like it. Ed was still lying limply in his arms, and he was afraid that if they waited too much longer to get him help he was going to die.

Al heard the footsteps getting a little closer behind them, and he thought he heard the sound of a door opening. Al couldn't imagine Ed had been able to cover his tracks very well inside the building, not in his condition, so it would probably be only a matter of moments before whoever was in charge of this creepy town knew that the Town Hall had been broken into.

But at least whoever it was didn't seem to be continuing around the other side of the building. Al didn't think they were being followed. They should have a little bit of time to get back to the hotel, at least.

While the fact that the streets were entirely deserted had terrified Al on the way to the Town Hall, now, it felt like a blessing. There was no one out to question why a suit of armor was carrying an unconscious child down the street in the small hours of the morning. Al couldn't think of any sort of reasonable defense, so he was grateful for that.

Meggy's eyes widened with shock when they stepped into the lobby of the inn. Beside him, Al felt Havoc stiffen. He had clearly forgotten that they would have to encounter her before being able to escape back to their rooms.

"Oh my god," she said, voice panicked. She started to come out from around the desk. "What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing," Havoc said quickly. "He just, um, had to much to drink. He needs to sleep it off. He'll be alright in the morning."  
Meggy stared at him skeptically. Al had to agree with her. Ed's face was entirely bloodless, and there were vivid, dark circles beneath his eyes. He didn't look like he had had too much to drink, he looked like he had been stabbed.

"Shouldn't he still go to the hospital?" Meggy protested, but Havoc waved her off.

"No, no, he'll be alright. We just need to...to get him to bed. Please…."

Meggy still looked uncertain, but she gave Havoc a small smile and said "Alright, if you're sure…"

Al was already halfway up the stairs, cradling Ed in his arms. He still didn't seem to be aware of his surroundings, and Al wasn't sure if he was asleep or unconscious. Whichever the case, he was in bad shape. His hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, and Al thought he could hear him grinding his teeth in pain, even in sleep.

All he wanted to do was take Ed to a hospital right away, but his brother would never forgive him for abandoning the alchemists. And Al wouldn't be able to forgive himself, either. But if something happened to Ed….

He broke off the unwelcome thought as he reached their room and laid Ed on his bed. Immediately, he curled up, looking even smaller than usual. Twitching slightly, he tried to burrow his head under his arms, but he was still barely conscious.

"Get the lights," Al told Havoc. "I think he has a migraine."

Havoc obeyed, and the room went dark. Ed relaxed, just a fraction, and after a little while, Al thought that he was sleeping. He sat down on the edge of the other bed, watching his brother intently until the tension left his face and his breathing relaxed into a more natural cadence.

* * *

Ed opened his eyes, then reflexively squeezed them shut to block the light spilling through the windows. But the light wasn't accompanied by the same unbearable pain that was the last thing he remembered feeling. His headache wasn't gone, his temples were still throbbing and his head felt at least two pounds heavier, but it was...manageable.

He sat up slowly, bracing himself for a resurgence of the previous night's nausea. But although he still felt dizzy, he didn't think he was going to throw up. Not immediately, anyway. He certainly didn't want to eat, though. Quietly, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and was about to try to stand when he heard Al gasp in relief.

"Brother! You're awake!"

"Yeah," Ed said. "How long...What time is it, and how did I...?" As Al filled him in on what had happened after he'd passed out, he scraped his hair back into a ponytail, too tired to attempt a braid.

"So...it's the festival day today?"

Al nodded. Ed pushed himself out of the bed, steadying himself on the wall as he discovered with alarm how shaky his legs still were. But it couldn't be helped.

"We need to stop them," he muttered vaguely. "Where's Havoc?"

Al gestured to the corner of the room where Havoc was draped over a chair, snoring faintly. "He was worried about you," he said, and Ed didn't know if he was imagining the tinge of reproach or not. "We both were."

Ed sighed. "I'm sorry, Al, I know I should have told you guys what was going on…. But you would've made me leave, and we never would have found the missing alchemists…."

"I know," Al said. "But we...we're not staying any longer than tonight, okay? Even if we don't rescue the alchemists. We need to get you to a hospital as soon as we can."

"I'm alright, Al, really…."

"You're not alright!" Al burst out angrily, loud enough that he woke Havoc, who immediately sat bolt upright. "Look at yourself, you can barely even stand! I want to save the alchemists as much as you do but I don't...I don't want you to die for them."

Ed thought about pushing back against Al, but he simply didn't have the strength. He was too exhausted to argue. And anyways, he knew that his brother was right. He wasn't alright, and every hour that he delayed going to the hospital was bringing him closer to death. He just...he couldn't watch five people die, not when he knew there was something that he could do about it.

Especially not a child. Not after Nina. Not after remembering his own childhood, when he would not have given up practicing alchemy for anything in the world. He couldn't let someone die when he saw so much of himself in them.

"We'll just stay through tonight," he said. "I can last that long, I know it. And the festival is today anyways, so after that it...it doesn't matter. We'll either save them or we won't."

"What exactly is the game plan?" Havoc asked. "Do you know where the alchemists are going to being held? Because we're not gonna be able to break them out when they're in the Town Hall, there will be too many civilians around."

"I...I don't know where they're going to be," Ed admitted. "I just figured we could, you know, go to the festival. Blend in. And then when we see an opportunity, we just sort of swoop in and grab them."

Havoc and Al both stared at him for a long moment. Ed stared defiantly back. Finally, Havoc shrugged.

"Honestly, that's as good a plan as any," Havoc said. "We'll stand a better chance of freeing them if we can figure out when and where they're being moved, so we can ask around today. Aside from that...let's go to a festival."

"Is there anything we can do to help you, brother?" Al asked. "Do you want breakfast?"

Ed shook his head. "The food from the inn is what poisoned me, I think. I don't wanna eat here anymore."

Ed didn't particularly want to eat _anywhere_ , but he thought that he would seem a lot less suspicious if he didn't acknowledge that fact.

"At least some water?"

"Fine," he said. He didn't want to put a lot in his stomach, but his head wasn't pounding as badly now and he thought water might make him feel better.

"I should really report on all this to the Colonel," Havoc said as Al left to get the glass. "Do you mind if I use your phone?"

"Go ahead," Ed said, shrugging and slumping back down on the bed. Maybe if he wasn't standing, his head would stop spinning….

Havoc plugged the phone cord in, looking confused, and then dialed the Colonel's number. Ed concentrated on staying conscious, all he had to do was just lie still and maybe he'd feel better by the festival.

"Colonel...yeah, it's Havoc. We found the alchemists-"

Ed closed his eyes, not really listening to what Havoc was saying. He could feel the headache lurking, ready to sweep him away if he let it. Ed just hoped he could hold it off until after the festival. The more rest he could get now, the better. Then, he blinked, the sound of his name cutting through the exhaustion and the dizziness. He sat up.

"Yeah, Colonel, that's the problem...Ed's…"

Ed waved his arms frantically, trying to attract Havoc's attention. The motion was making the room sway alarmingly, but he couldn't let Havoc tell Mustang what was wrong with him. Mustang would make him come back to East City immediately, he'd send backup that would arrive far too late, and he would never let Ed do anything on his own ever again.

Havoc looked over and broke off. "Hold on one moment, Colonel." He covered the mouthpiece. "What?"

"Don't tell him," Ed hissed.

"I'm not going to lie to my superior officer," Havoc told him, and raised the phone back to his ear. "Sorry, sir. As I was saying-"

Ed panicked. He had a horrifying image of Colonel Mustang himself arriving in Tranquility and dragging him back to East City in disgrace. Ed squeaked with future embarrassment and indignation and pulled the cord out of the wall, melting the outlet shut with alchemy for good measure. Havoc looked at the dead phone in confusion, then glanced down at Ed, still clutching the wire.

"Ed! What the fu-" he paused, then corrected himself. "Fudge!"

"I'm not a child," Ed snapped, hoping to distract Havoc from the matter at hand. If he was being entirely honest with himself, it was possible he may have acted a little rashly…

Havoc ignored him. "You just hung up on my boss! Mannnn, he's gonna dock my pay for that…."

Just as he was about to continue, Al returned. _Perfect timing,_ Ed thought, glad that he wouldn't have to justify his dubious decision to Havoc.

"Al! You got my water! Thanks!" Ed seized the glass with an enthusiasm he didn't feel, and Havoc retreated to his chair in the corner, staring morosely at the useless telephone.

Ed took a few quick sips of water, which made him cough a little, and sat back down on the bed.

"What's going on?" Al asked suspiciously.

" _Ed_ just hung up on the Colonel," Havoc said, sounding legitimately angry.

Ed scowled. "Only because _you_ were going to tell him how sick I am."

"And why can't I tell him?"

Ed rolled his eyes a little. "Because he'll make me go back to East City right away. And I'll never be able to do anything alone ever again and all five of the alchemists are going to die."

"The Colonel's gonna be more mad when he finds out that you didn't tell him what was really going on though," Al said reasonably. "If you had explained the situation, I'm sure he would have been open to trying to find a solution. He probably could have really helped us."

"Well...I didn't do that, okay?" Ed said angrily. "We're just going to have to make this work without him. Now...what is everything we need to do to get ready for the festival?"

* * *

Havoc and Al had gone to talk to Meggy in the morning while Ed had been asleep, and, after repeatedly reassuring her that Ed was completely alright after the night's events, they had managed to gather some information about the festival itself. They learned that it took place mainly in the town center, close to where they'd been last night, and that they'd been holding a festival this same night for the past fifteen years. They also learned that, apparently, one of the main hallmarks of the festivities was that everyone wore a mask to obscure their face.

As Al had expected, Ed was excited that he would get another chance to try out a disguise, and Al was relieved that this one would be in a more appropriate environment than the last one. Now, Al had gathered Ed a bunch of materials from around the inn, and he was sitting on the bed, happily transmuting masks for himself and Havoc.

"How's this one?" Ed asked, holding up his third attempt at making Havoc a satisfying mask.

Havoc shook his head a little. "Um, why don't we try a little less horns. And fewer colors. And no spikes. And, um, you forgot a mouth hole."

Ed frowned and set to work again making the adjustments Havoc had specified. "Here you go," he said, trying to hand the mask to Havoc.

Havoc sighed. "Ed, can you just make it black? Plain black? With _no_ horns?"

Al watched his brother's face fall, then his eyes narrow. Evidently, Havoc saw it too, because he groaned and relented. "Fine, if it'll make you happy, you can put a design on the edges…."

A few minutes later, the three set off for the festival. Ed's head was slightly bowed under the weight of his ornate (and terrifying) mask. Al frowned. Surely that wasn't the best thing for someone with a headache...he'd seen his brother's slitted eyes earlier, he was sure that Ed was still in pain. But he didn't want to say anything, he knew that Ed would only blow up.

As they passed Meggy's desk, she waved at them. "I like your mask, Jean," she said shyly, and the visible section of Havoc's face blushed.

"The tiny skulls were my idea," Ed said proudly from behind his demonic monstrosity. Meggy gave him an uncertain smile, and Havoc shoved Ed out the door unceremoniously. "Oh look at the time, see you at the festival," he called back over his shoulder, pushing Ed along the busy streets.

Al looked around, amazed at how many people were out today. He hadn't known that Tranquility even had this many citizens…

All around them, men, women, and children streamed toward the town center, each of them wearing a different mask. Most were of birds, or fish, or other wildlife. A few were more fanciful, lovingly embellished butterflies or fairies, airy creations that took Al's breath away.

None of them had horns. Once again, Ed had found a way to make blending into the crowd impossible. The townspeople around him shot him dirty looks, taking a wide detour around his pointy headgear.

"This festival is a cool idea," Ed announced loudly. "We should do something like this in East City, huh guys?"  
"Can you walk further ahead of me?" Havoc asked. "One of your horns is poking my shoulder."

Ed turned around to glare and almost took a passing woman's eye out. Al sighed. "Brother, could you tone the mask down a little? You're going to hurt someone."

Ed scowled, but pressed his palms together and then lifted them to his mask. Grudgingly, he shrunk down the horns and adjusted some of the rest of it too, so it would stand out less. He didn't look particularly happy about it, but at least they'd be able to blend in more easily and Ed wouldn't have to keep watching out to make sure he didn't hit anything.

"Where are we going?" Al asked. He had thought he had a pretty good idea of where everything in the small town was arranged, but now that it was dusktime and the streets were flooded with people, he found that he was rather turned around.

"This way," Havoc said authoritatively.

"You're sure?"

"Look," he said. "This is the way all the people are going. And this is the way to the Town Hall. I think that's where we want to go to figure out where the alchemists are being held now."

Al nodded, and let the tide of people sweep him towards the center of the festivities.

* * *

 _No, no, not now,_ Ed thought to himself. He could feel another headache starting to come on, and he could not think of a worse time. He needed to stay alert, so he could keep hiding himself in the crowd, so he could save the missing alchemists. He couldn't be laid out again by another one of the insane migraines, that would ruin everything. And anyways, he thought if he got another one of the headaches Al and Havoc really would force him to a hospital.

Ed tried to pay attention to the festival going on around him, both to keep an eye out for clues and to distract himself from the slowly mounting pain in his head. In all honesty, it was pretty cool. Assuming you could ignore the fact that it was all to celebrate a religion that was anti-alchemy and that it was going to end with the sacrifice of five people, it wasn't something he would mind attending. Everyone was wearing elaborate masks, and there was food being sold _everywhere._ Ed wished he felt a little less nauseous, he would love to try all the different snacks he saw. He wished there was another, better festival that he could attend when he felt less sick.

Abruptly, the pain in Ed's head spiked, and he stumbled a little. Involuntarily, he reached out for Al, and steadied himself on his brother's arm. He managed to catch his balance, and tried to pass it off as if nothing had happened, but it didn't really work.

"Brother!" Al exclaimed. "What's wrong? Are you getting another headache? Do you need to sit down?"

"I'm...I'm alright," Ed said, gritting his teeth a little against the pain. "Let's just keep moving."

He let go of Al's arm, wobbling a little, and forged ahead through the crowds. He kept pushing through the people, not entirely clear on where he was going, mostly just walking so he didn't have time to stop and acknowledge the headache threatening to overtake him. He wove his way in and out of the crowds, absentmindedly hoping that Havoc would see someone he knew, or that Al would hear something strange. He was doing his best to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity, but if he were being completely honest, it was taking most of his attention just to stay upright.

"Al? Havoc? Do you see anything?" he forced himself to say as naturally as he could. There was no answer. Had he been too quiet? He turned around, hissing against the sudden pain at his temples, but his brother and the soldier were nowhere to be found.

"Guys?" He stood on his tiptoes (not that it helped much) in an effort to see over the crowd, but he didn't see either one of his friends. _How did I lose a seven foot tall suit of armor?_ He scanned the crowd again, but all he could see in every direction were masks: princesses, frogs, leopards, unicorns, dragons, phoenixes - but no Al, no Havoc.

Shouting would draw too much attention, and he couldn't imagine that they'd hear him over the laughing and chattering that was making his skull throb. He paused, standing alone in the middle of the square, covering his aching eyes with one gloved hand. Should he search for his companions, or find the missing alchemists? Ed didn't think that he had much time before the migraine hit...he was already having trouble focusing. That settled it. If he tried to find Al and Havoc now, he would just end up collapsing halfway through the rescue mission, and he'd wake up in a hospital and the alchemists would probably be dead. Ed couldn't allow that to happen. He'd just have to continue searching for the alchemists, and hope that Al and Havoc could catch up to him. He'd need their help.

Decision made, Ed raised his head and bit back a cry of pain as the movement sent sparks flying through his field of vision. He took a few shaky steps, walking almost without thinking to a shaded alley. _Back ways,_ he thought vaguely. _Harder...to notice...I'll stay in...the shadows…_

He stumbled hard and reached out for the wall, yelping as the motion disturbed the migraine lying in wait. Suddenly, the world tilted, and his grasping fingers missed the wall and the breath left him as he hit the ground hard. He gasped for air, every extra movement making the headache worse. Ed tried to push himself upright, but he couldn't make his limbs obey him. His vision began to blur around the edges, and he collapsed back to the cobblestones, gritting his teeth.

"Not now," he moaned weakly.

But, no matter how hard he tried to fight back against the pain, to focus on his breathing instead of on the pounding in his head, it was useless. His vision started to blur sickeningly in and out, and he fought the urge to vomit. Everything in his body felt heavy and thick and numb.

The pain in his head rose to an almost unbearable level, so severe that even though he could tell that his eyes were open he could barely see at all.

"Is that the State Alchemist?" he heard a harsh voice ask somewhere above his head.

"I thought we were going to have to work harder to get him on his own," a second voice said. "Lucky."

 _No._ Now was an absolutely horrible time for Ed to run into people looking for a State Alchemist for...reasons that Ed couldn't even begin to fathom. Was he getting involved with the sacrifices somehow now too? Did this connect to the missing State Alchemist that he'd been sent to investigate in the first place?

Ed's head hurt too much for him to put the pieces together. And why exactly they wanted him didn't matter so much right now anyway. All that mattered was that he escape them and find a way back to the missing alchemists.

He clapped his palms together weakly and then pressed them to the ground. He was ready for a flash of blue light, the faint ringing sound that accompanied the use of alchemy. But nothing happened, just like the previous night. Ed didn't know if he was simply too pained and exhausted to make his alchemy work, or if the poison itself was specifically inhibiting it somehow. But all he knew for certain was that his alchemy didn't work, and there was nothing he could do to fix it.

He was still in so much pain he was practically writhing on the ground, and he knew there was no way he would be able to fight hand to hand either. Without his alchemy, he was essentially useless.

He felt one of the men grab his wrists, and then he started hauling Ed to his feet. "Stand up," he commanded. "We're bringing you back to headquarters. They'll be happy to have you too."

Ed wouldn't have obediently stood and gone with the men under any circumstances, but right now, the problem had less to do with Ed's own desires and much more to do with the fact that his legs refused to take his weight. The man dragged Ed to his feet, and immediately, Ed felt his legs collapse beneath him.

"Can't," Ed muttered as he slipped sideways. And then the world around him dissolved into darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

"How could he have disappeared so fast?" Al said, unable to keep the anxiety out of his voice. "He was here just a second ago…."

"He is awfully short," Havoc said distractedly. He clearly had not realized the severity of the problem yet.

"This is serious!" Al almost yelled. "He could barely stand before, I think he had another migraine coming on. And now he's gone…."

"We'll find him," Havoc said firmly. "I'm sure he's heading towards the town center still, we'll meet up with him there."

"But-"

"We'll find him," Havoc said again. Al, not knowing what else to do, followed him. They'd only gone a few yards when they ran into Meggy. She waved, looking distracted. But she'd always seemed more well disposed toward Ed than the other townspeople had…. Al seized his chance.

"Meggy! Have you seen Ed?"

Meggy blanched. "He's...not with you?" She sounded scared.

"No, he got separated in the crowd," Havoc said, finally starting to sound worried. "Is that a problem?"

Meggy just stared at them, knuckles whitening on her clasped hands.

"What's going on?" Al asked frantically. This was like something out of a nightmare. He was standing in the middle of a typical Amestrian town, on a festival day, the sun was out and people were everywhere. How could his brother just vanish?

Meggy opened her mouth, then shut it again. Havoc stepped forward, reaching out and taking one of her hands.

"Meggy, if you know something….please tell us," he said softly.

She shook her head, clearly agitated. "I...I can't," she whispered.

"Please!" Al burst out, unable to control himself. A few passerby glanced at them, and Meggy hid her face with a hand. Al lowered his voice. "He's my _brother._ Please…"

"Then I'll disappear too," Meggy said, voice quivering. "Try to understand…"

"We - _I_ \- won't let anything happen to you," Havoc said firmly. "Promise." She wavered, and Havoc squeezed her hand gently. "He's just a kid…"

"The caves," she muttered. "They probably took him to the cave system…the entrance is behind the Town Hall."

"Thank you," Al said fervently, already turning away. He heard Havoc tell her not to worry, and then the two of them were running toward the Town Hall.

* * *

Ed blinked awake, the world around him blurry and unfocused. He lay on the hard ground for a few seconds, trying to remember what had happened. His head felt heavy, like it was stuffed with cotton wool, and he didn't want to try to move yet. He just lay there, concentrating on breathing, trying to force his eyes into focus.

The light around him was dim, so he knew he must be inside. In some sort of basement? No, he didn't think so. His face was pressed flat into something cool, damp, and rough. Stone, he was pretty sure. The air around him was stale and earthy, and he could feel a cool breeze on his face. The space around him sounded echoey. He figured he was probably in some sort of dungeon, or maybe underground.

Ed took a shuddering breath and forced himself to sit up a little bit. This effort made the world sway alarmingly around him, and he bit back a groan.

With the other headaches, when Ed had woken up after mercifully blacking out, he had felt significantly better. Despite spending last night in so much pain he couldn't even speak, this morning Ed had found himself only a few shades off normal. But now, that was not the case. The headache had eased enough that he could see, and he thought if he were really willing to push himself he might be able to stand. But he didn't feel particularly well, and certainly not anything resembling normal. Even the smallest movements sent waves of agony pulsing through his head, and he rather felt like someone was shoving a drill through the spot directly above his right eye. He fought the urge to be sick and steadied himself on the wall behind him.

To his surprise, Ed realized that he was not chained. Whoever had captured him must have figured he'd be out for a little longer yet, because they seemed to have left him simply lying slumped in the corner. He shrugged a little, hoping he could use the situation to his advantage.

Now that he was sitting up, he looked around, trying to get a better handle on his surroundings. The walls, floor, and ceiling all seemed to be made of stone, so Ed thought that he was probably in a cave. There were a few candles placed strategically around the space, reminding Ed of the arrangement he had seen in the strange room in the Town Hall. Looking closer, he could see occult symbols scratched into the wall as well.

 _I got lucky,_ he thought ruefully. He seemed to be in the exact location he, Al, and Havoc had been trying to end up in all along. He would put money on the fact that the other alchemists were somewhere nearby, being held for the sacrifice. He wasn't exactly glad that he had somehow gotten mixed up in the sacrifice itself, but the fact that he was in the right location now would certainly make his job easier.

Assuming he could get it together enough to stand up and find them.

Ed had just started trying to push himself up the wall when he heard the sound of footsteps quickly approaching from a tunnel branching off to his right. Immediately, he slumped back down, trying to look as unconscious as possible. It wasn't hard. He heard at least three people enter the room, and none of them seemed to pay him any mind.

"Oh, you got the kid," one of them said.

"Yeah, he couldn't even move. Piece of cake," his friend answered. The three of them snickered, and Ed seethed with anger from his corner. He promised himself that the man would end up with Ed's fist in his face, but that was a problem for the future. Before he started anything, he needed to find out just how weak he was.

In the center of the room, the three continued their conversation.

"We still got til sundown…. Cards?"

"Sure. Where are the others?" asked the third voice. There was an ominous pause, and then the first man answered.

"They're getting the altar ready. We're watching the sacrifices."

This seemed to satisfy the other two, and Ed heard them sit down noisily in the corner of the cave. Within a few minutes, they were immersed in their game. _If I just wait a little longer I can probably slip past them to find the other alchemists. They won't notice a thing. And maybe there's some sort of exit in their cave…._

Ed frowned. There was something nagging at him, but he couldn't focus past the pain to find it. All that he knew for sure was that he had to get to the alchemists; that was why he was here in the first place. He didn't need to know anything else, he would figure it out on the way. He had to - at this point, he was long past planning. It was all he could do to keep his eyes open.

He turned his head, just a bit, enough to scout out the position of the three guards. They were across the room, arranged in a circle, heads aimed downwards at their cards. Ed thought that he could probably make it across the cave without catching their attention. As quietly as he could, he rolled over, onto his stomach.

No one paid him any mind, and once the pain in his head abated somewhat, Ed wriggled forward. Even the smallest movement was making him nauseous, but he concentrated on breathing evenly and it seemed to help a little.

On the other side of the room, the men still hadn't noticed anything. Ed wriggled forward again, breathed, and waited. Nothing.

He moved again, and in the corner, one of the men threw down his cards in disgust. Ed froze instantly, turning his face to the ground and hoping desperately that they wouldn't notice his changed position.

"That damn kid's waking up," the second voice said. _Of course._

Ed didn't give himself time to think. He just hauled himself to his feet, ready to fight.

The second he was vertical, the world pitched around him. For a split second, he thought he was going to immediately fall, and he reached out blindly, hoping he could find something to steady himself on. Instead, he managed to catch his balance on his own, but he wasn't sure how long he would be able to stay standing. He took a shaky breath, wishing the pounding in his head would stop so he could just think for a damn minute.

"What are you doing?" one of the men said, sounding surprisingly panicked. "Get back in your corner!"  
Ed put up his fists like he was ready to fight, looking the man dead in the eye. The villager came towards him menacingly. And Ed ran. By the time the man had swung at Ed he was already gone, throwing himself towards the entrance to the tunnel he had seen earlier. He could tell he had caught the men off guard, at least briefly, and it gave him a chance.

But Ed was not at the top of his game, not with his head still pounding, sending occasional spikes of pain through his neck and back. He wasn't fast enough. He had made it only a few steps when one of the men grabbed the collar of his shirt and hauled him backwards. Ed was yanked off balance, and he fell hard to the ground.

Ed scrambled to his feet, already breathing hard. He had only one thought, and that was that he needed to escape. Somehow, despite his aching head, the fact that the world was blurring with fever, he needed to get out of here. He needed to find Al and Havoc, to tell them that he knew where the alchemists were being held. He needed to help save them.

It was only three men, and they were just villagers. He couldn't imagine them being very good fighters. They didn't even use alchemy. Ed had taken down three people plenty of times before. That...that was nothing.

But he needed a weapon. Ed clapped his hands together, then pressed his left palm into his automail, ready to extend it. But nothing happened. Ed swore softly. He had hoped his inability to do alchemy was a fluke, something that would happen only in the heat of an excruciating headache just as before. But, apparently, that wasn't the case. He still couldn't do alchemy.

Ed was on his own. He drew back into a defensive stance, trying not to sway on his feet. The men circled him like wolves, and Ed waited for them to get closer. This time, he couldn't take the fight to them. The less he had to move, the better.

Finally, Ed judged they were close enough. He dropped to the ground, sweeping his leg wide, catching one of the three men's legs and tripping him up. He fell heavily, and Ed pushed himself upright, cursing at the heaviness in his limbs. A fist swung toward him, and even though he darted back, a glancing blow on his cheek rattled his head even more. He was just moving too slowly.

He backed into the center of the room, panting heavily. A little ways away, two of the guards helped the third man to his feet, and they all began to converge on Ed once more. Ed raised his fists and waited, a sense of despair beginning to grow. _Al...whenever you're ready, a rescue would be nice…._

* * *

They'd made it to the caves before meeting with any trouble, and Al had almost dared to hope that their way would be clear. But just as he and Havoc silently slipped through the door concealing the entrance to the caves, they heard voices. Al looked desperately around the barren passage, but it offered no cover. They would have to fight.

The voices drew closer, and Havoc cocked an eyebrow at Al, then gestured to the doorway. Al gave a nod of confirmation, and as Havoc drew the two guns he'd concealed beneath his jacket, Al barrelled through the entrance.

There were a few seconds of confusion, and then the men opened fire. Bullets pinged off Al's armor as he quickly drew a transmutation circle and raised a protective shield of rock. The bullets kept hitting the wall, and Havoc shook his head.

"Amateurs. Burn through all their ammo." He waited for a ceasefire, and as the men realized that their bullets wouldn't penetrate Al's shield, Havoc peeked around the wall.

"Ten men," he whispered to Al. "Can you keep raising walls?" Before Al had a chance to answer, Havoc had risen, squeezed off a shot, and dropped back down. There was an answering cry, and then another volley of gunfire.

"Wait! No kill shots!" Al said, knowing that Havoc would protest, but unwilling to compromise.

"That makes my job a lot harder," Havoc snapped, but Al shook his head firmly. "Fine...we don't have time to argue. Let's move- you bring down rocks on their heads, or a dust cloud or something, keep them guessing."

"Okay," Al said, and he touched the circle again. The ceiling shifted, and there were cries of confusion across the room.

"How long can you keep holding them off?"

"Pretty much forever," Al said, already starting to draw another transmutation circle. "But just not dying isn't enough. We need to get to brother."

Havoc sighed a little and peeked the barrel of the gun around the wall of rock. Another volley of shots rang out.

"We need to take some more of them out first. Or we'll never make it."

Al pressed his hands onto the circle, and felt the ground start to rumble beneath them. He heard shouts as a few of the men fell to the ground.

"We don't have time for that!" Al yelled. If Ed had been weak enough to be captured by a bunch of people who couldn't even do alchemy, he must be in a pretty bad state. They didn't have time to slowly pick off ten men, he would be dead by the time they got to him.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Havoc yelled.

Al winced as he heard the sound of machine gun fire again, pinging against their makeshift barrier. "I'll...I'll make a distraction," he finally said, hoping that this was something that he actually would have the ability to do. "You...run and get Ed. I'll catch up with you."

"Al..."

Al suspected Havoc was going to protest, but he didn't want to hear it. His brother was in danger, and without them coming up with a plan he was surely going to die. So without letting Havoc even finish his sentence, Al launched himself from behind the wall of rock. Immediately, he started to draw the men's fire. All he could do was hope that Havoc was taking advantage of their distraction, and that he was going to find and save Ed.

* * *

Ed wasn't sure how much longer he could keep fighting. He had managed to land a pretty good blow on one of the men, with his automail arm, no less. But he had traded it for another punch to the side of the head, and now his skull was ringing so badly he thought he might black out.

He was pressed up against the wall now. He hated the fact that he was cornered, but he didn't have a lot of options. His legs were weak and trembling, and he wasn't sure he would be able to stand without something behind him. Still, he tried hold his hands up in front of him and look as menacing as he could.

Thank god the men didn't seem to have any weapons. He could take down three men without weapons. Or at least, he could keep stalling them for a while, he hoped….

One of the three surged forward, and Ed met him with a desperate punch that somehow connected with his throat. The man choked and went down, and Ed regarded him with a slight glint of satisfaction - he wouldn't be getting up for a while. The feeling didn't last long. The other two men advanced, a little more cautiously than their friend. Then, almost too quickly for Ed's aching head to follow, they struck, and he threw himself sideways.

They missed him by inches, and he hit the floor and rolled away, gasping with dizziness and pain. He staggered to his feet and raised his fists again, swaying where he stood. His vision was coming in spots now, but there were only two of them. The third was still gasping on the ground. Even in this condition, he could take out two of them; they seemed slow and uncertain.

Then, he heard footsteps from another passage, and his heart sank. There were shouts, and more of the townspeople streamed into the cavern. Ed was having trouble focusing his eyes enough to count, but he thought he saw at least seven more opponents.

 _This is it,_ Ed thought. There was no way he could pull this off. _But at least_ _I'll go down fighting._

The two guards he'd been struggling with gave the newcomers a look of relief, and they began moving to join their comrades. Suddenly, there was a bang and one of them crumpled, clutching his knee and screaming in pain.

"Whaa?" Ed looked around in confusion as another of the villagers dropped, bleeding from a bullet hole in the shoulder.

"Ed! You okay?" Another man fell to the ground, and Havoc appeared from the tunnel that led (as best as Ed could guess) outside to the village.

"Havoc? Where's Al?" Ed asked, confused, trying to process the sudden reprieve.

Havoc darted into the room, raising his gun again, and the townspeople scattered. "He's holding the rest off," Havoc explained, and squeezed the trigger again. One man flinched, but there was no answering cry.

"Goddamnit," Havoc muttered, shoving the gun back into its holster. Ed blinked slowly as the six remaining men regrouped themselves, realizing that Havoc was out of ammo.

"You don't have any more guns? Riza carries way more," Ed pointed out.

"It's your brother that told me I can't fire kill shots! I emptied the clip on the other trying to get in here so I could save your ass," Havoc snapped, sounding genuinely offended. "You're welcome, by the way."

Ed didn't really know how to respond to that. Havoc was right. If he'd arrived any later, there might not have been much left of Ed to save.

"Thanks," Ed said finally, rather grudgingly. He put his hands up again, wishing the world would stop spinning so much.

"Can you fight?" Havoc asked, eyeing him carefully.

"Yes," Ed said, but his voice was quiet and strained. Havoc frowned, and put his hands up too.

"Just…try not to get killed," Havoc said quickly, and then the villagers were on them.

Most of them swarmed to Havoc, probably correctly identifying him as the more threatening target. Havoc was better at hand to hand then Ed realized, and soon two of the men were on the ground. Havoc was bleeding from a shallow wound above his eye though, and more men just kept coming.

Ed swayed on his feet. Someone seemed to notice him for the first time, and came towards him. Ed lurched backwards, fighting the urge to vomit and wishing his vision would stop blurring in and out.

The man struck out at Ed, and his fist connected with the side of Ed's face. Normally, pushing through a blow like that would have been nothing. But now, Ed couldn't do it. He felt his legs give way beneath him and he crumpled to the ground, his head cracking painfully onto the stone.

The man went in for a kick, and Ed rolled away. Good thing the man didn't really seem to know how to fight. If he'd been more skilled, he could have pinned Ed to the floor while he was helpless. As it was, Ed managed to drag himself to his feet, where he stood trying to keep his balance.

Ed threw himself towards the man, praying he would think Ed was more incapacitated than he actually was. It sort of worked. Ed managed to hook his leg around one of his opponent's, and both of them went down in a heap.

Ed heard Havoc grunt with pain. He looked up, and got a quick glimpse of Havoc grappling furiously with one of the men, while several others watched from the side. Havoc seemed to have inflicted minor wounds on many of them, but he was badly outnumbered and Ed wasn't sure how much longer the soldier would be able to keep going.

Ed's head spun. Any other day, he would have already knocked the person he was fighting unconscious. But as it was, he was having a hard time staying conscious himself, let alone actually taking someone out. He punched the man weakly in the side of the head, and while the man looked shocked, he was nowhere near done. Ed took a shaky breath.

And then the ground started to tremble beneath him. Ed looked up quickly just in time to see a wall of rock rise up, separating Havoc from the villagers he'd been fighting and trapping them in a corner. Ed hauled himself to his feet, looking around frantically, just in time to see Al stride in through the same tunnel Havoc had used a moment before. He watched dumbly as Al quickly raised a cage from the floor, sealing the villagers inside.

"Brother! Are you okay?"

Ed opened his mouth to answer, but he was having trouble remembering what he wanted to say. The bruises all over his face were throbbing, and blood was trickling down the side of his head where he'd hit it on the floor. And even leaving all that aside, his headache was pulsing along with the beat of his heart, and his vision was narrowing and widening in time. He saw Al's eyes spark with worry, and Havoc took a step toward him, hands outstretched. Ed moved forward, trying to get to Al and prove that he was at least nominally alright, but his limbs didn't seem to be working correctly. Suddenly, his legs stopped taking his weight, and his vision bloomed black as he fell to the floor.

* * *

 **A/N-** Thank you so much for reading, and for being patient with the updates! There's only one chapter left, and it should get posted in the next few days. I hope you enjoy!


	6. Chapter 6

"ED!" Al moved toward Ed's limp form, but Havoc was already there. He scooped Ed up and slung him over one shoulder.

"I've got him," he said, breathing hard. "I'm out of ammo, and you've got alchemy."

As much as Al wanted to be the one holding Ed, he knew that they weren't out of danger yet. It wouldn't do Ed any good if they were all caught now. He gave Havoc a tight nod and strode across the room, away from the passageway where they'd entered.

"Exit's that way," Havoc said, already halfway toward the opening. Al looked back, saw Ed hanging limply over Havoc's shoulder, and almost left right there and then. But there were still five alchemists trapped in the next room, one of them a child. He couldn't leave them now.

"The alchemists," he explained, and Havoc nodded. Al hurried into the next room and scanned it quickly. No guards, just a large cell in the corner of the room. Five people huddled inside, and when they saw Al come in, they drew away. Al sighed, used to the reaction.

"It's okay," he said, raising his hands soothingly. "I'm a friend. You met my brother, Ed, earlier. I'm an alchemist too, and we're here to free you."

"F-free us?" said one of the prisoners, a young man with dirty blond hair and a skeptical look. "This isn't some kind of mind game?"

"No trick," said Al, stepping forward and drawing another circle on the lock. He pressed his hands against it, and it popped open and fell to the ground. The prisoners inside gasped with disbelief.

"Where...where do we go now?" one of them asked, still looking around fearfully.

"Get on a train. Just...get out of here. Go anywhere."

"We don't have any money."

Havoc frowned and reached into his pocket, but came up empty. "Um-" He then put his hand into Ed's pocket, and came up with a handful of cens. He eyed Ed carefully, clearly half-expecting him to wake up and protest being robbed, but he didn't even stir. He handed one of the alchemists the money.

"Thank...thank you sir."

"It's nothing," Havoc said. "Just find yourselves somewhere safe to go."

Havoc started to leave, Ed still slung limply over his back, but then suddenly paused and turned back around.

"Wait. I have a friend here, Meggy. She works at the inn, but she doesn't like what the town is doing. She helped us find you, and if they end up finding out that she helped me…. If you could go to the inn before leaving and contact her, it would mean a lot. She can get you food, and any more money that you'll need for train tickets. I'm sure she'll want to come with you, I just don't want her to get hurt…."

But the alchemists were already nodding. "We'll get her," one of them said. "Don't worry about that."

"Thank you," Havoc said, looking relieved. "We couldn't have done this without her."

Havoc left the room then, Al following close behind. The two of them started running up the tunnel that led back to the surface, Havoc still carrying Ed. Al kept his eyes out for any more of the villagers, but he seemed to have gotten them all when he first burst into the room.

"Ed…?" he finally asked, terrified to hear Havoc's response.

"He's alive," Havoc said.

Al looked over at his brother. He didn't look particularly alive. His eyes were closed, and he was so pale Al could see the veins on his neck. Blood from a small wound on his temple trickled down the side of his face. Al couldn't tell if he was breathing.

"Are you sure?" Al asked.

Havoc hesitated. "We...we just need to get him back to East City. As soon as we can."

They broke through to the surface, finally, and the festival was still in full swing. Throngs of people were everywhere. Al had no idea how they were going to get Ed through the crowds without someone noticing, but he supposed at this point that was the least of their concerns.

"Here," Havoc said. "I need to try to get us a car."

He lifted Ed off his shoulder and unceremoniously dumped him into Al's arms. Ed's eyelids flickered faintly, as if he were struggling to wake up, and he coughed a few times like he couldn't catch his breath anymore. Al cradled his brother against his chest.

A few paces away, Havoc yanked one of his empty guns from its holster and waved it in the air. "Amestrian military, coming through!" he yelled. "I need a car!"

The townspeople scattered in alarm. Al didn't blame them. Havoc was dressed in civilian clothes, brandishing a firearm and yelling in a crowded square. The blood trickling gently down his face from a few cuts along his cheek and forehead added to the aura of insanity.

"It's state business," he shouted. "You will receive full compensation from the military but I need a car RIGHT NOW!" He glared menacingly at the startled citizens.

"Mine's parked by the curb," squeaked an older man, drawing away from Havoc's gun. "The keys are inside…"

"The Amestrian military appreciates your sacrifice," Havoc said, already running to the curb. Al followed him, a little shocked that the yelling had worked. As he ran, he cradled Ed a little tighter, wanting to avoid jostling his brother. But Ed didn't even stir through the bumping and shaking. All the color had leached from his face, and his breathing was coming in shallow, uneven gasps. Al clutched him tighter, hoping that Ed knew that he was there.

The car that Havoc had commandeered was pretty standard, meaning there was almost no room in the back seat. Al wedged himself into the car, still holding Ed. Unsure how to arrange himself to offer Ed the most comfortable position, he ended up placing Ed curled in his lap.

Ed looked even smaller than usual, pale against Al's metal body. His hair fell over his face, and Al reached out and brushed it away as Havoc turned the car on and sped off. Ed's eyelids fluttered, and he mumbled something unintelligible.

"Brother?" Al asked softly, but Ed's eyes drifted closed again and he didn't respond. Al placed his hand on Ed's forehead, but he couldn't feel whether or not Ed was feverish. He thought he was, his skin looked clammy and his hair was limp with sweat, but he just wished he could feel... _anything._

Havoc swerved around a tight corner, blasting his horn, and Al wrapped his arm around Ed to prevent him from spilling to the floor. He winced as his brother's head flopped limply back and forth. If he hadn't been watching for the shallow rise and fall of Ed's chest, he never would have known that his brother was still alive. As gently as he could, he wiped away the blood on the side of Ed's face. But his glove didn't do what he wanted, and he just ended up smearing Ed's cheek with blood.

Beneath Al's hand, Ed twitched weakly and coughed a little. When he breathed in again, Al heard his breath catch, and he coughed more violently.

"Brother!" Al held Ed's shoulders, watching helplessly as he convulsed with the effort of coughing. His lips parted, and red spittle flecked his cheeks. Al froze, and Ed coughed again. More blood bubbled from his lips, and Al gripped his shoulder desperately.

"Ed! Can you hear me?" He didn't answer, and Havoc craned his neck to look into the backseat.

"What's happening? Is he okay?"

"He's...he's coughing blood," Al said, unable to keep the panic out of his voice.

The car lurched slightly as Havoc accidentally jerked the wheel. "A lot of blood?"

Al didn't know exactly what counted as a lot in a circumstance like this. But blood was currently staining the whole side of Ed's face from whatever internal damage he was sustaining, and more trickled out of his mouth every time he coughed. It certainly didn't seem like a good sign to Al.

"I…I think so," Al said, rubbing his brother's back in a way that he hoped was comforting.

"He just needs to hold on for another hour or two," Havoc muttered, Al thought more to himself than anything. He pushed the car a little faster.

Al continued to cradle his brother, trying to protect him from any bumps in the road. He brushed Ed's sweaty hair off his face, and tried to situate him in a more upright position so his breathing would be easier. Aside from that, all he could do was wait.

* * *

Ed wasn't entirely sure what was going on anymore. He remembered fighting, he'd been trying to save some people, he thought. He remembered being on the ground, and he thought he remembered seeing his brother. Then, nothing.

Now, Ed thought he was in a car. He could feel the faint thrum of it underneath him. His body jostled a little every time it went around a curve. He didn't know whose car it might be. He wasn't sure where it might be going.

He thought Al was with him. Every so often, he would hear his brother's voice, and it would be slightly comforting to him even if he couldn't make out the words. Sometimes, he would feel Al's hand touch his cheek or his shoulder. The metal was cool, which was nice. Ed figured he must have a fever, although he wasn't entirely sure how to tell.

Mostly, what Ed was aware of was the pain. The pain in his head was still there, intense enough that he wasn't sure he would be able to see, even if his eyes were open. But that was accompanied by another kind of pain, a new kind. Now, it felt like his insides were being ripped apart, like some animal had its claws in his organs and was tearing them up. This pain was intense enough that he could scarcely breathe around it.

He coughed again, and he felt more blood bubble up from his shredded insides and trickle down his chin. He wanted to wipe it away, but he couldn't. He was too weak. There was no way he would be able to move his arms that much. Maybe if everything just hurt a little less….

He felt Al's hand brush his bangs out of his face. He opened his eyes a little bit, but all he could make out were a few blurry shapes before the pain forced them closed again.

"Hey, brother, can you hear me?" Al asked, voice tight and anxious. Ed wanted to respond, but he couldn't bring himself to.

"He's awake?" Ed heard Havoc say from somewhere to the left.

"No," Al said sadly. "He's already gone again…."

Ed wanted to tell Al that he could hear him, that he wasn't gone, but all he could do was cough. He groaned as the movement wracked his aching body, tearing up his organs even more. He felt the blood on his lips, and part of him knew that this had to be a bad sign, but he couldn't really focus on why.

Above him, Al said something else, but he couldn't catch the meaning. He heard each sound, but he couldn't make it add up in his mind. It was just white noise in his brain.

He coughed again, and the searing pain in his lungs made him forget everything else. He was slowly being ripped apart from the inside out, and he couldn't even bring himself to panic. The pain was all he could think about, and he couldn't really think much at all anymore.

Ed curled in on himself as he continued coughing, unable to catch his breath, blood flying from his mouth and pain racking his body. He felt Al's hands circle him protectively, and he shook against his brother's armor as blood spattered onto the cold metal. Finally, mercifully, the coughing subsided, and he was drawing ragged gulps of air, ignoring the pain in his lungs.

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know...he's still coughing blood…"

That was Al's voice, Ed thought, but he still couldn't find the meaning. Breathing was enough of a challenge right now, and he wasn't sure he was even up to that.

"We're almost there. Just...keep him alive."

Ed felt Al smooth his hair again. "Hurry," his brother whispered.

Ed stared at the blackness behind his eyes and struggled to force his lungs to inflate. But the influx of air set off another cough, and he felt more of his insides fight their way up his throat. He choked, and he was dimly aware of Al yelling, but he was more focused on the coughing that he couldn't stop.

Ed felt his body shake and blood escaped in a gush from the sides of his mouth, and then he was in the air with Al's arms around him. He bounced up and down as Al ran, and he coughed with each step his brother took.

There was a part of Ed that realized that if he passed out now, he might never wake up again. He took in another shuddering breath and tried to wrench his eyes open. He wasn't ready to die right now. He just needed to...to stay awake a little longer….

"Bring him in here!" he heard Havoc yell, and then he felt his body jostle as if Al were climbing stairs. The air changed, Ed thought he might be inside now. He opened his eyes for a split second, but all he saw was bright light. Even keeping his eyes open for that fraction of a heartbeat caused the pain in his head to mount to a breaking point, and he cried out.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he heard Al murmur above him. Ed tried to focus on his words instead of the pain mounting in his chest and head. But it was impossible. He writhed in Al's arms, wishing there was something, _anything,_ he could do to get it to stop.

"Brother, please stay still," he heard Al say, sounding a little alarmed. But Ed couldn't even really figure out what he was talking about.

"Hurts," he mumbled, using his hands to pull at his clothes as if he could somehow simply yank the painful parts out.

"I know it does, just hold on a little longer…."

Somewhere in the distance, he thought he heard Havoc's voice. It sounded like he was yelling. Was he angry? Ed wasn't sure. Maybe he was scared.

Some time went by, and Ed focused on breathing and nothing else. At one point he started coughing again. His mouth tasted like salt, and some part of him knew that was a problem although now he couldn't remember why.

He felt Al laying him down on something. He didn't remember what was going on exactly, but he did know that he didn't want to be split up from Al. He reached one weak arm out in the vague direction of his brother.

"I'm right here," he heard Al say.

Ed started coughing again, and the movement made the pain in his head rise to unbearable levels. He couldn't even tell if his eyes were opened or closed anymore. He couldn't remember what he was trying to do. He couldn't remember his name. He couldn't even remember how to breathe.

He groaned slightly. He didn't care about anything anymore except ending the pain. The one thing he wanted in the entire world was for it to stop. He knew he had been trying to stay awake before, but now, he couldn't remember why.

He let himself slip into darkness.

* * *

"ED!" Al screamed his brother's name again, but he still didn't answer. As the doctors took Ed away from him, his brother's body shook violently. His eyes were sunken into his face, and Al could see them twitching behind Ed's closed lids. He'd stopped responding on the way into the hospital, and all Al could do now was trust the doctors to do their job.

They laid him on a gurney and Al watched painfully as Ed's convulsions became more and more violent. Unable to stop himself, he reached for his brother again. But a doctor motioned him back.  
"Ed," Al whispered. "Please…"

On the gurney, Ed's back arched and Al saw his hands clench on the blankets. Al thought he could see veins pop in Ed's forehead, blood rushing through them far too quickly. Suddenly, Ed's muscles seemed to loosen. He collapsed back onto the gurney, where he lay still.

Too still. Ed...wasn't breathing. Al could see from where he was standing, Ed's chest was completely still. He started forward as a doctor began pressing rhythmically on his brother's chest, trying to restart his heart.

"Ed! Edward!" Al struggled to reach his brother, certain that if he could just touch Ed, let his brother know that he was here for him, that he was right beside him, then Ed would wake up and everything would be okay. Everything had to be okay. He and Ed had been through hell together, and Ed was the only reason that Al was standing here right now. He couldn't lose Ed, too. Not after everything else.

And then a doctor was in front of him as the others tried to get Ed to breathe and he was pressing on Al's chest, trying to force him back. "Please, wait outside, we're doing all we can."

"NO! I have to be with my brother! I need to be with my brother!" Al yelled. He resisted the urge to simply knock the doctor into the wall and run to Ed's side.

"You can't be in the room if you're going to make a scene," the doctor said firmly. "Anything that can be done for your brother, we will do. Please stay quiet."

Behind him, the doctor doing chest compressions on Ed raised her head and called for adrenaline. There was a flurry of movement, and Al wavered. He still wanted to be next to Ed, but he knew that he'd just get in the way. And being in the room was better than pacing outside, waiting for the worst.

But then the doctor working over Ed heaved a sigh of relief, and everyone in the room seemed to relax, just a fraction.

"Is he-"

"He's breathing," said the man in front of Al. "We'll take care of him. Now, you really have to go."

Reluctantly, Al left the room, looking back for one last sight of his brother, surrounded by doctors and nurses, machinery and tubing, and looking very small indeed.

* * *

"I sent you to watch over Fullmetal, not to help him hide his illness and nearly get him killed! If I send you out on a mission like this, I expect you to report _everything_ to me, not just what's convenient to you. I'm very disappointed in you, Fullmetal could have _died!"_

"At least save the yelling for outside the hospital room, Colonel," Ed heard a familiar female voice say. "He's still sleeping. He doesn't need to wake up to this."

"I will _not_ stop yelling when my subordinate is being an irresponsible _child_ who thinks that he can risk the life of-"

Ed's eyes flickered, and somewhere off to his left he heard Al gasp. "Colonel, quiet! I think he's waking up!"

Ed groaned slightly. Every part of his body hurt. He felt like he had been hit by a train. And almost worse, he wasn't entirely sure what was going on. He remembered getting in a car with Al and Havoc, he remembered them stopping... _somewhere….._

He opened his eyes for a few seconds and winced at the light. He no longer felt like his brain was seconds away from splitting open, but his head was still pounding thickly and it was hard to focus. Even just opening his eyes for a couple of heartbeats sent spikes of pain radiating through his skull. The light felt too intense just now. He groaned again.

"Brother?" he heard Al say. "Brother, can you hear me?"

"He doesn't look very awake to me," the Colonel said from his other side, sounding somewhat disdainful.

"I'm up," Ed managed, a little shocked at how weak his voice sounded. He opened his eyes again.

Four faces were hovering worriedly above him. Al was the first one he saw, leaning over him and looking at him as intensely as if he thought he could lend Ed strength through only his gaze. The Colonel and the Lieutenant were at his other side, Riza looking worried and Mustang looking rather angry. Havoc was in the corner, hair drooping over a white bandage wound around his head. He was pressed against Al, looking worried, but also like he was trying to stand as far as physically possible from Mustang.

"How do you feel?" Al asked.

"I'm...I'm alright," he said. He tried to brush his bangs away from his face, but when he lifted his arm he realized that it was connected to an IV. So he was in the hospital. "What...happened, exactly?"

"Do you remember getting the alchemists out?"

"We...we freed them?" Ed certainly remembered that they had been _going_ to free them. But he thought that he had blacked out before that final step had actually happened. He was desperately glad that they had actually succeeded in the mission, that their entire stay in the unsettling town hadn't been in vain.

Havoc nodded. "I heard from them this morning. They made it to Central, and they've already found a place they can stay for a little while while they get back on their feet. Meggy was with them, did I tell you that? She's so selfless to want to help them, and so brave…."

"How long have I been here?" Ed asked, cutting Havoc off.

"Around two days," Al said.

Ed shifted his head slightly so he was looking at the Colonel, trying his best to ignore the wave of pain that rolled over him at even the smallest movement. "And has _he_ been here the whole time?"  
"I was only informed of your condition this morning," Mustang said stiffly. "Because _someone_ failed to report properly."

He looked pointedly at Havoc.

"I'm sorry, sir," Havoc said a little snappishly. "When would you have liked me to check in? After the gunfight? Or maybe I should have stopped on the way here to make a phone call?" He slumped down into a chair out of Ed's field of vision, and Ed heard him mutter "I tried to call you, it's Ed that cut the phone line…"

Mustang's head swiveled back to Ed, and Ed thought he saw the Colonel's eyes light up a little.

"What is this about...cutting the phone line?"

Ed coughed pathetically, hoping that he could distract the Colonel. No such luck.

"Fullmetal…did you disconnect Havoc's call? Well?" Mustang's eyes shone with the unexpected gift of another lecture. He tapped his foot against the tiles of the hospital floor and looked expectantly at Ed.

Ed closed his eyes, the pain in his body seeming to multiply. Above him, the Colonel cleared his throat.

"Aww, man," Ed muttered, wishing that he hadn't woken up quite yet.


End file.
